Bronze As of Hadrian

Historical Context

The as was a small denomination within the Roman imperial monetary system. Its conventional value was one-sixteenth of a denarius, one-quarter of a sestertius and one-half of a dupondius. These accounting relationships help explain the role of base-metal coins in transactions requiring change. They do not establish how every wage or purchase was paid, nor do they imply a fixed ratio between the actual metal content of individual denominations.

Hadrian ruled from 117 to 138 CE after succeeding Trajan. His government withdrew from some of Trajan's eastern acquisitions and emphasized the administration and defence of the existing empire. The emperor's journeys and his relations with provincial communities furnished subjects for coin designs, alongside the established vocabulary of peace, prosperity and imperial legitimacy. The as carried these messages on a smaller surface than the sestertius, often simplifying figures and attributes without necessarily changing their central meaning.

Bronze is a convenient umbrella description for copper-alloy coinage. Imperial asses are commonly identified as copper, whereas the sestertius and dupondius are associated with orichalcum or brass. These general distinctions should not be mistaken for the chemical analysis of every surviving piece. Surface corrosion, wear and cleaning can conceal the original colour. Denomination identification consequently requires comparison with a complete issue rather than reliance on one apparent physical characteristic.

Obverse Iconographic Composition

Hadrian's beard and curled hair are familiar identifying features on the as. They contrast with the predominantly clean-shaven portraits of his immediate predecessors and are often discussed in connection with his interest in Greek culture. Such an interpretation concerns official representation, not a demonstrable personal reason for every detail of the portrait.

The head may face right or left, and catalogue descriptions distinguish a head from a bust with drapery or armour. Laureation, exposed chest, a shoulder fold and the viewpoint of the bust can separate entries whose reverse design is otherwise similar. For the Pax group, for example, an apparently minor difference in shoulder treatment cannot safely be supplied from the reverse legend alone.

Portraits vary through the reign, but they do not follow three universally established stages called early adoptive, mature Hellenic and late severe. Those labels conceal differences between dies and issue groups. A youthful or aged appearance is not an independent date, and facial creases do not document a medical diagnosis. Comparisons between coins and other portrait media can illuminate the transmission of imperial likenesses, but they must account for scale, material and the conventions of each medium.

Headgear is also an imperfect denomination test. Bareheaded Hadrian dupondii are documented, so the absence of rays does not, by itself, turn a copper-alloy coin into an as. A secure attribution combines portrait, legends, reverse, issue context and physical evidence.

Obverse Epigraphy and Inscriptions

Hadrian's obverse inscriptions are Latin, normally written in abbreviated capitals around the portrait. They present his name, imperial rank and offices. IMP abbreviates Imperator, AVG Augustus, P M Pontifex Maximus, and TR P the possession of tribunician power. CAESAR and TRAIANVS connect the imperial name with the succession from Trajan.

An early formula is IMP CAESAR TRAIAN HADRIANVS AVG. In full, its main elements read Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus. Longer and differently arranged formulas also occur. Their precise wording should be read from the particular issue, not reconstructed by assuming every early coin has the same titulature.

HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS is a shorter formula. Later legends include HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, combining Hadrian Augustus with the third consulship and Pater Patriae, Father of the Fatherland. The paternal honour was accepted in 128 CE and helps establish a chronological boundary. It should not be treated as an annually renewed office.

Hadrian entered his third consulship in 119 and held no fourth. COS III therefore remains compatible with many later years, whether it appears on obverse or reverse. It is not an exact mint year. A broad progression from extended imperial names to shorter formulas and paternal titulature is useful, but exact boundaries depend on the catalogue's issue sequence, not four rigid phases shared by every denomination.

Reverse Iconographic Composition

The reverse repertoire extends well beyond a single personification. Pax represents peace through attributes such as a branch and cornucopia. The branch expresses peaceful order, while the cornucopia associates that order with abundance. On a documented early group she stands left, with her identity established by the complete composition rather than by a named reverse legend alone.

Britannia supplies a distinct early provincial theme. She is seated, with shield and spear, and may rest her head on a hand. Her posture should not be read as proof of one emotional state or a report of a specific military incident. The imagery addresses the province within the language of Roman imperial power. Its relationship to Hadrian's visit to Britain in 122 is historically relevant, but the coin's production date must be established separately. It is not justified to call every example a direct announcement of the Wall's construction.

Restoration themes offer further variety later in the series. Hadrian reaches towards a kneeling province, whose attributes identify the territory. Achaea may be accompanied by a vase with a palm; Africa by grain and an elephant-scalp headdress; Hispania by an olive branch and a rabbit. The emperor's action presents him as a benefactor. These designs should not be confused with a province reclining alone or with an arrival scene involving sacrifice.

The survival of comparable subjects in other denominations does not make them all asses. Related designs can differ in legend, composition and denomination. Provincial bronzes, medallions and coins bearing another member of the imperial household require their own classifications rather than automatic inclusion in Hadrian's personal as series.

Reverse Epigraphy and Inscriptions

Reverse legends combine offices with explanatory labels and dedicatory formulas. The early Pax group uses P M TR P COS III with S C in the field. The expansion is Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate, Consul Tertium; Senatus Consulto: chief pontiff, holder of tribunician power, consul for the third time; by decree of the Senate. Because the consulship is the third, this formula belongs no earlier than 119, not to an undifferentiated accession phase beginning in 117.

BRITANNIA identifies the province. On early types the name accompanies a seated figure and a longer office formula. The spelling, arrangement and portrait treatment help determine the catalogue entry; the province name alone cannot do so. A coin with the same subject on a larger flan may belong to a different denomination or issue.

RESTITVTORI ACHAIAE means To the Restorer of Achaea. The corresponding formulas RESTITVTORI AFRICAE, RESTITVTORI GALLIAE and RESTITVTORI HISPANIAE apply the same claim to other territories. The dative RESTITVTORI describes the emperor's role, while the province is represented by the kneeling figure. These are not mint signatures.

S C is a conventional feature of imperial copper-alloy coinage. Although it invokes senatorial decree, its presence is not evidence that the Senate independently commissioned each design. Nor can its position in the field or exergue provide an exact date without reference to the rest of the type.

Typology and Documented Variants

Richard Abdy's revised Roman Imperial Coinage II.3 appeared in 2019, with a section on medallions by Peter Franz Mittag. Its entries must be distinguished from those of the original RIC II. Full catalogue attribution requires the denomination, portrait form, legends and reverse attributes, not just the emperor's name and one recognizable figure.

The Pax standing group RIC II.3 672-677 is dated 121-123 in the revised classification. RIC 672 describes a laureate head right, paired with IMP CAESAR TRAIAN HADRIANVS AVG and P M TR P COS III, with S C in the field. It provides a secure comparison for the group, not a license to assign all its bust variants from an incomplete image. Each bust variant requires its own catalogue comparison; a number within the group cannot be inferred from the reverse alone.

Early Britannia asses include RIC II.3 242, with a laureate bust and the seated province. Published date ranges vary: broader catalogue dating and a narrower sequence derived from a particular study need not be identical. The type belongs to the early reign and must not be presented as a precisely dated visit commemorative without further evidence.

Later restoration asses include RIC II.3 1806 for Achaea, 1822 for Africa, 1854 for Gallia and 1874 for Hispania. The documented comparisons are assigned to Rome and dated 130-133. These designs extend the survey beyond early Pax coinage, while differences in portrait and provincial attributes explain why they are separate entries. The Achaea comparison is distinguished by its own documented combination of portrait, legend and reverse attributes.

Scholarly Debates and Attribution Limitations

Three related limits govern interpretation. First, an as and a dupondius can share a reverse subject and similar dimensions. Portrait treatment and apparent colour are useful observations, but not universal rules. Bareheaded dupondii make that limitation explicit. Neither a photograph nor a single weight is equivalent to an alloy analysis or a complete catalogue identification.

Second, chronological formulas must be separated from exact dates of issue. COS III provides a lower boundary in 119, while P P points to 128 or later. Within those limits, the legend may recur over several years. Differences between older and newer catalogue date ranges should be attributed rather than combined into an invented precise chronology. Assertions about mint closures, emission totals or exact die sequences require their own evidence.

Third, the imperial message is not a literal record of an itinerary. Pax can express the desired order of government without demonstrating the absence of conflict; a kneeling province and RESTITVTORI can proclaim beneficence without describing a particular grant. Naming Africa or Hispania does not establish that the coin was manufactured there. The documented restoration comparisons are assigned to Rome.

Interpretation is strongest when it keeps those levels distinct: the visible design, its place in a catalogue and the historical meaning proposed for it. A broad survey can recognize recurring themes and changes in titulature without treating every attractive explanation as a settled fact.

References

1. The Roman Imperial Coinage II.3: From AD 117 to AD 138 - Hadrian. Richard Abdy, with a section on medallions by Peter Franz Mittag; Spink, 2019. Bibliographic record.
2. British Museum: Hadrian Britannia as. R1935,0404.55; RIC II.3 242, also cited as RIC II 577a. Rome; record dates the issue 119-123.
3. Imaging Hadrian in Britain between Coinage and Sculpture: A New Digital Approach to the Study of Roman Imperial Portraiture. Britannia, 2023; discussion of Britannia asses and imperial portrait comparison, including early issue dating 119-121.
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II.3 (second edition) Hadrian 672. RIC II.3 (second edition) 672, within parent group 672-677; as, Rome, 121-123; laureate head right and Pax standing left with branch and cornucopia. Bust variants within the group have separate entries.
5. Ashmolean Museum, Heberden Coin Room: Hadrian Achaea restoration as. HCR91815; RIC II.3 1806; RESTITVTORI ACHAIAE, Rome, 130-133.
6. Ashmolean Museum, Heberden Coin Room: Hadrian Gallia restoration as. HCR91820; RIC II.3 1854; RESTITVTORI GALLIAE, Rome, 130-133.
7. Ashmolean Museum, Heberden Coin Room: Hadrian Africa restoration as. HCR91816; RIC II.3 1822; RESTITVTORI AFRICAE, Rome, 130-133.
8. Ashmolean Museum, Heberden Coin Room: Hadrian Hispania restoration as. HCR91823; RIC II.3 1874; RESTITVTORI HISPANIAE, Rome, 130-133.
9. Ashmolean Museum, Heberden Coin Room: bareheaded Hadrian dupondius. HCR91691; RIC II.3 1249; Rome, 129-130. Comparator for the limits of denomination identification from headgear.
10. British Museum: Hadrian, ruler biography. Authority record; Hadrian's reign, 117-138. Reign dates do not establish continuous annual production of asses.