Sestertius - Hadrian // EXERC BRITANNICVS S C

The EXERC BRITANNICVS ("the British army") sestertii form part of Hadrian's famous "travel series" — a group of issues struck circa 130–133 to commemorate his tours of the provinces and his addresses to the assembled troops. Hadrian visited Britain around 122 AD, during which he initiated construction of the wall bearing his name, and the army types almost certainly reflect that earlier visit rather than a second journey. The legion-address scenes on these reverses are among the earliest numismatic depictions of a Roman emperor conducting an adlocutio to a specific provincial army.