Hadrian Orichalcum Sestertius, RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) Hadrian 738

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

During the High Roman Empire, the monetary system rested on a bimetallic and base-metal hierarchy anchored by the gold aureus and silver denarius, supported for daily transactions by a coherent suite of copper-alloy denominations. The sestertius, valued at four asses or one quarter of a silver denarius, functioned as the premier large-format token denomination in this matrix. Struck in orichalcum, a golden-toned copper-zinc alloy known in antiquity for its brilliance and resistance to corrosion, the denomination offered substantial surface area for official imperial communication alongside its heavy fiscal utility. Type 738 was authorized and issued at a time when the imperial treasury maintained stringent standards for weight and alloy composition. Sestertii of Hadrian typically centered around a median weight between 24 and 28 grams with flan diameters spanning 31 to 34 millimeters. These coins played an indispensable role in urban markets, high-value commercial exchanges, military dispatches within pacified territories, and state-sponsored infrastructure expenditure. Because everyday retail trade and routine administrative accounting were regularly denominated in sesterces, issues of this standard enjoyed immediate and universal acceptability across municipal treasuries and private markets alike.

Production Standards and Minting Operations

The entirety of official sestertius production under Hadrian, including the specific issue designated as RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) Hadrian 738, was concentrated at the primary imperial mint in the capital city of Rome. Modern numismatic scholarship identifies a sophisticated workshop organisation at Rome, wherein distinct officinae operated systematically to prepare cast bronze flans, engrave matched die pairs, and execute striking. Production of orichalcum flans required precise metallurgical blending of copper with calamine ore, followed by casting into spherical or flattened ingots and annealing to prevent cold-striking fractures. Die engravers demonstrated high technical competence, balancing portraiture and field inscriptions with high relief. Coining was performed by hand hammer, causing predictable variations in strike centering, flan thickness, and rotational die axis among individual specimens. Despite these manufacturing variances, mint supervisors enforced strict volumetric accountability. No secondary or provincial branch mints were licensed to strike standard imperial orichalcum sestertii with Latin legends during this administrative phase, confirming that specimens of type 738 found beyond Italy arrived through normal commercial dispersion and administrative logistics rather than localized manufacturing.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) Hadrian 738 depicts the laureate head of Hadrian facing right. Stylistically, this portrait belongs to Hadrian's mature numismatic typology, abandoning the earlier, slightly busier depictions influenced by late Trajanic portrait models in favor of an idealized, serene aesthetic deeply indebted to classical Greek sculpture. The laurel wreath rests securely upon carefully arranged, coiled locks of hair, tied at the nape of the neck with ribbon ties falling toward the base of the neck. Hadrian's trimmed beard, which he famously adopted in departure from the clean-shaven tradition of prior Julio-Claudian and Flavian emperors, is rendered with delicate, textured incisions. Engravers carefully modeled the facial features, presenting a straight nose, firm chin, and a calm, contemplative gaze directed forward. The truncation of the neck is left bare or slightly sculpted, emphasizing the civic and philosophical dimensions of the emperor's public image. Surrounding the portrait, the legend HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS is neatly laid out in circular fashion, uninterrupted by the laurel wreath crest, creating a balanced and dignified frame.

Reverse Iconography of Diana

The reverse of the type features the goddess Diana, divine huntress and protector of nature, standing right in a graceful, active posture. She is dressed in a short, belted hunting chiton that falls above the knees, accompanied by hunting boots, suitable for movement through woodland terrains. In her right hand, Diana draws an arrow forward, held delicately by the shaft, while her lowered left hand supports a recurve hunting bow resting toward her flank. Engravers sometimes rendered her quiver visible over her shoulder. This dynamic hunting icon, often associated with Diana Venatrix, evokes themes of vigilance, divine favor, imperial protection, and pastoral abundance. Hadrian's documented personal passion for hunting further provides an ideological bridge between mythological veneration and imperial virtue. The divine figure occupies the vertical center of the field, flanked symmetrically by the senatorial formula S C, ensuring that the visual balance of the composition remains intact despite the absence of an elaborate architectural or figural backdrop.

Epigraphy and Legend Structure

The inscriptions on RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) Hadrian 738 reflect the deliberate simplification of imperial titular formulas initiated during the middle of Hadrian's principate. The obverse legend reads HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS, moving clockwise along the flan border. By dropping the extensive patronymic formulas, Dacian titles, and lengthy lists of offices seen on earlier issues, the mint adopted a striking, direct presentation of the princeps using only his personal name and supreme august title. The reverse inscription is limited to the titular indication COS III across the upper border, indicating that the coin was struck after Hadrian entered his third consulship in AD 119, which remained his final consular appointment throughout his reign. In the vertical field flanking the figure of Diana appears the ubiquitous formula S C (Senatus Consulto), affirming that the bronze and brass coinage was produced under the traditional authority of the Senate. The lettering is rendered in formal Roman monumental capitals, exhibiting refined serifs and uniform proportions typical of the urban mint's finest work during this era.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Within the revised classification established in the second edition of Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC II, Part 3), type 738 is securely placed within Hadrian's substantial coinage sequence of AD 124 to 125. The introduction of the concise obverse legend HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS marks a critical chronological horizon, firmly separating these issues from the earlier COS III group struck between AD 119 and 123 that retained more elaborate obverse inscriptions. Type 738 shares reverse design affinities with contemporary denarii and middle bronzes featuring Diana, demonstrating an overarching thematic coordination across multiple metals during this production cycle. While minor stylistic variations exist in the precise rendering of Diana's drapery, the angle of the bow, or the exact placement of the S C characters relative to the figure, these represent normal die-cutting variations rather than intentional sub-types. The narrow issue window of AD 124 to 125 reflects a concentrated striking phase preceding Hadrian's later systemic coinages celebrating his extensive travels and provincial adventus ceremonies.

Circulation, Wear, and Archaeological Context

As high-value base-metal currency, orichalcum sestertii of type 738 enjoyed widespread circulation across the urban centers, military encampments, and rural settlements of the Roman world. Archaeological excavation reports and hoard evidence demonstrate that Hadrianic sestertii moved extensively throughout Roman Italy, Gaul, Britannia, the Rhine frontier, and the Danubian provinces. Due to the high purchasing power of a sestertius, these coins circulated for prolonged durations, frequently remaining in active commercial pools for sixty to eighty years or more. Hoards deposited in the late Antonine and Severan eras regularly contain Hadrianic sestertii displaying moderate to advanced circulation wear, smoothing the high points of Hadrian's hair and Diana's delicate drapery. As silver currency experienced inflationary pressures and debasement in the third century AD, older orichalcum sestertii were progressively hoarded, melted down for their valuable copper and zinc content, or officially recalled, terminating the practical circulation life of issues like RIC 738 after more than a century of utility.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume III: Nerva to Hadrian. pp. 434-436
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) Hadrian 738. ric.2_3(2).hdn.738
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II, Part 3: Hadrian. 738
4. Untersuchungen zur römischen Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil II: Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Hadrian. Typenchronologie AD 124-125