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Sestertius - Hadrian P M TR P COS III S C, Minerva
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 121-123 |
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| 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 |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Minerva, goddess of wisdom and war, depicted standing to the left in full figure, extending her right hand to place incense upon a tall candelabrum positioned to her left, while her left hand holds a long vertical spear. At her feet to the right rests a round shield containing a coiled serpent, a classical Athenic attribute; the senatorial authorization legend is disposed in the field with S C flanking the central type. The composition reflects the formal, hieratic reverse typology characteristic of Hadrianic bronze coinage issued under senatorial sanction. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | P M TR P COS III S C (Translation: Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate, Consul Tertium. Senatus Consultum. High priest, holder of tribunician power, consul for the third time. Decree of the senate.) |
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| Additional information |
Hadrian's early sestertii in this series belong to a period of intense administrative consolidation — he had already abandoned Trajan's Parthian conquests by 117 and was actively reorienting Roman policy away from expansion. The COS III dating places this issue between 119 and 123, overlapping with Hadrian's first major tour of the provinces, during which he personally inspected frontier defenses and reformed military discipline in ways his predecessors had not.
RIC II.3 667 is part of the extensive 2007 revision of the Hadrianic orichalcum series, which substantially reorganized earlier RIC II attributions. Collectors working from older references should cross-check OCRE carefully, as numbering discrepancies between the original Mattingly-Sydenham volume and the revised second edition remain a persistent source of mislabeling in trade.