Sestertius - Hadrian PONT MAX TR POT COS III SC, Roma

Struck in the early years of Hadrian's reign, this sestertius belongs to a period of deliberate political messaging after a troubled succession. Trajan died in 117 AD leaving no unambiguous heir, and the adoption claim that legitimized Hadrian was disputed almost immediately — four senior senators were executed within months, an act Hadrian blamed on the Senate itself. The early bronze coinage was one tool in reestablishing authority, with the PONT MAX TR POT COS III titulature precisely dating production to his third consulship.

RIC II.3 #253 falls within the revised Metcalf-Abdy framework that substantially reclassified Hadrianic bronze, splitting the older RIC II into finer chronological groupings.