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Sestertius - Hadrian RESTITVTORI ORBIS TERRARVM S C, Orbis
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 120-121 |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Hadrian stands to the left, draped in military attire, extending his right hand in a gesture of restoration toward the personification of Orbis Terrarum (the World), who kneels to the right before him. Orbis, depicted as a turreted female figure symbolizing the inhabited world, holds a globe in one hand and raises the other to receive the emperor's beneficence. Hadrian holds a scroll in his left hand, emblematic of imperial authority and decree. The reverse legend encircles the composition, with the senatorial authority mark S C prominently placed in the exergual field. |
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Issued to mark Hadrian's sweeping tour of the provinces beginning around 121 AD, this "Restorer of the World" series was unprecedented in Roman coinage — no emperor before Hadrian had systematically celebrated the act of visiting and rebuilding the provinces as a political program in its own right. The coins functioned almost as dispatches, confirming to Rome that the emperor was actively present across the empire rather than governing from the Palatine.
The Orbis type is among the broadest of the restitution group, personifying the world itself rather than a specific province.