Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Sestertius - Hadrian LOCVPLETATORI ORBIS TERRARVM S C, Liberalitas
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 121 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Sestertius = 1/4 Denarius |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A liberalitas scene depicted in multiple figures: Hadrian, togate, is seated left upon a raised tribunal platform, extending his right hand in a gesture of bestowal toward two citizens advancing from the right, each holding out the fold of their toga to receive the imperial gift. Behind the emperor, the personification of Liberalitas stands left, emptying a cornucopia held in both hands, symbolising the generosity of the congiarium. The senatorial mark of authorisation S C (Senatus Consultum) appears in the field. The composition exemplifies the high-quality narrative relief style characteristic of Hadrianic bronze coinage. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Issued in 121 AD to commemorate Hadrian's first recorded congiarium — a direct cash distribution to the Roman populace — the legend LOCVPLETATORI ORBIS TERRARVM ("enricher of the world") reflects an unusually grand claim even by imperial standards. Hadrian had just returned from consolidating the Danube frontier and was carefully cultivating a domestic image of generosity after Trajan's costly wars. The Liberalitas personification on these pieces corresponds to the first of at least six such distributions Hadrian would issue across his reign.