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Sestertius - Sabina PIETAS AVG S C, Pietas
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 136-138 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 25 g |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of Sabina facing right, her hair elaborately dressed and piled high upon the head, secured by a single stephane (diadem). The portrait is rendered in the refined Hadrianic court style, with delicate facial features and layered coiffure typical of imperial female portraiture of the period. The encircling legend runs along the outer rim of the coin field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Sabina's coinage was minted under direct imperial authority but almost certainly reflected Hadrian's agenda — elevating his wife's image as part of a calculated program of dynastic legitimacy in the final years of his reign. Their marriage was, by most ancient accounts, deeply unhappy; the biographer of the Historia Augusta claims Hadrian considered her temperament "harsh and difficult." The PIETAS attribution on her sestertii served a political function entirely disconnected from the personal reality.
Sabina died in 136 or 137 AD, after which Hadrian deified her — possibly, some sources suggest, under circumstances that were not entirely natural.