The EXPED AVG ("imperial expedition") reverse type on Hadrian's sestertii almost certainly commemorates his departure from Rome in 121 AD on the first of his famous provincial tours — journeys that would consume roughly twelve of his twenty-one years as emperor. Unlike his predecessors, Hadrian abandoned the desk-bound model of imperial administration and traveled personally to inspect troops, reform provincial governance, and — in Britain — commission the wall that still bears his name. The expedition coinage was likely struck to legitimize and publicize that departure to a Roman public accustomed to emperors who stayed put.
The EXPED AVG ("imperial expedition") reverse type on Hadrian's sestertii almost certainly commemorates his departure from Rome in 121 AD on the first of his famous provincial tours — journeys that would consume roughly twelve of his twenty-one years as emperor. Unlike his predecessors, Hadrian abandoned the desk-bound model of imperial administration and traveled personally to inspect troops, reform provincial governance, and — in Britain — commission the wall that still bears his name. The expedition coinage was likely struck to legitimize and publicize that departure to a Roman public accustomed to emperors who stayed put.