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Sestertius - Hadrian FELICITAS AVG S C, Felicitas
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 133-135 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Sestertius = 1/4 Denarius |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Standing figures of Hadrian and the personification of Felicitas facing one another in a greeting scene: Hadrian stands to the right, clad in military attire, extending his right hand and holding a scroll in his left, while Felicitas stands to the left, draped in a stola, holding a caduceus — the symbol of prosperity and good fortune — in her left hand. The composition is rendered in a formal, hieratic style typical of Hadrianic reverse types, with both figures occupying the full height of the field. The legend FELICITAS AVG is distributed in the upper field, and the senatorial authorisation mark S C appears in the lower field, flanking the figures. The reverse reflects Hadrian's programmatic emphasis on the prosperity and stability of his reign. |
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| Additional information |
Hadrian's extensive travels through the provinces between 121 and 132 AD generated an unusually systematic coinage program celebrating imperial virtues, with Felicitas — embodying prosperity and divine favor — appearing across multiple issue types tied directly to his return journeys. The RIC II.3 revision, published in 2019, substantially reorganized Hadrianic bronze, and this piece falls within a group previously lumped under broader classifications that the new volume carefully disaggregated by die evidence and provincial context.
Orichalcum production at Rome during this period depended on imported zinc-copper alloy stocks, and supply disruptions under Hadrian occasionally forced adjustments in flan quality that show up as porosity in surviving examples.