Hadrian Silver Denarius, RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) Hadrian 1983

Monetary Context and Imperial Policy

The denarius under Hadrian was the anchor of standard commercial transactions and military payments across the Roman Mediterranean. Originating from the reform of Nero in AD 64, the imperial silver denarius maintained an official theoretical weight of approximately 3.23 grams (one ninety-sixth of a Roman pound) with a fineness fluctuating around 80 to 85 percent silver. By the 130s AD, the imperial treasury relied on this established standard to support an extensive administrative apparatus and an empire-wide military network. Hadrian's final years saw substantial commemorative issues celebrating his administrative initiatives, extensive tours, and provincial visits. Rather than serving purely utilitarian economic roles, denarii produced during the AD 130s functioned as official carriers of political communication. RIC II, Part 3 Hadrian 1983 was issued as part of this monumental program, conveying the safe conclusion of imperial journeys and affirming Rome's preeminence as the caput mundi in relation to the provincial frontier.

Production and Mint Organization

Production of this denarius was concentrated at the principal imperial mint in Rome. Under Hadrian, the Rome mint operated with highly structured officinae staffed by skilled engravers, flan casters, and strikers. Die-engraving at Rome during this period achieved a high degree of artistic refinement, characterized by realistic imperial portraits, plastic modeling of drapery, and well-balanced epigraphy. The silver blanks were cast in molds before being heated and struck between hand-carved bronze or iron dies. Output of the late Travel series required significant silver bullion, sourced from Spanish, Balkan, and Anatolian imperial mines as well as re-melted earlier circulating currency. While provincial aes issues were minted locally in Greece, the Levant, and Egypt to mark specific provincial arrivals, the imperial silver adventus types carrying Latin legends and standard weight metrics were reserved for production at the central Roman mint for universal circulation.

Obverse Iconography and Modeling

The obverse features the mature head of Hadrian turned to the right, wearing a laurel wreath tied at the nape with ribbon ties hanging behind the neck. Hadrian's portrait on this issue is typical of his late reign: carefully modeled curls, a trimmed beard in the Greek philosophical style, and prominent facial features demonstrating naturalistic aging. Unlike earlier issues from the early 120s AD where the imperial bust is often draped or cuirassed, RIC II, Part 3 Hadrian 1983 exhibits an uncouth bare neck with only the laurel wreath, concentrating the viewer's focus on the portrait itself. The portrait is framed by a continuous circular legend running clockwise from the lower left, enclosed by an outer border of fine dots.

Reverse Iconography: The Adventus Scene

The reverse iconography depicts a formal encounter between the divine personification of Rome and the reigning emperor. On the left side of the interaction, Roma stands facing right, dressed in martial attire or an Amazonian tunic, holding a vertical spear in her left hand. On the opposite side, Hadrian stands facing left, clad in the civilian toga of a Roman magistrate and holding a rolled parchment scroll (volumen) in his left hand. The focal point of the composition is their clasped right hands (dextrarum iunctio), situated centrally between the figures. This handclasp symbolizes mutual trust, political concordia, and constitutional harmony. Hadrian meets Roma not as a conquering warlord adorned in heavy armor, but as a civilian princeps returning to report to the state after ordering the affairs of the provinces.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The obverse inscription reads HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P (Hadrianus Augustus, Consul Tertium, Pater Patriae). This abbreviated formula confirms Hadrian's imperial authority (Augustus), his third and final consulship entered in AD 119 (COS III), and his acceptance of the honorific title Father of the Country (Pater Patriae), which he adopted around AD 128. The reverse inscription is the simple, powerful legend ADVENTVS AVG (Adventus Augusti), translating as 'The Arrival of the Emperor'. Adventus was both a sacred ritual and an imperial ceremonial event celebrating the arrival of the princeps at a city, in this instance specifically Rome herself. The epigraphy is rendered in classical Roman monumental capitals, balanced around the figures and providing immediate legibility for users across the empire.

Typology and Chronological Placement

In the original 1926 classification of Roman Imperial Coinage Volume II by Harold Mattingly and Edward Sydenham, Hadrian's travel series was broadly dispersed or grouped in general late-reign sequences. In the revised second edition of RIC II, Part 3 (published in 2019 by Richard Abdy and Peter Mittag), the chronology of Hadrian's coinage was substantially reorganized based on die linkages, portrait styles, and epigraphic evolution. Type 1983 is placed firmly in the transitional phase between AD 133 and 135, coinciding with Hadrian's final return to Italy from his third and final major voyage through the eastern provinces and Judaea. Within this typology, type 1983 is distinguished from companion denarius types that depict Hadrian sacrificing over an altar before Roma or adventus scenes dedicated to specific foreign provinces such as Hispania, Gallia, or Britannia.

Circulation, Hoards, and Survival

Once issued at Rome, silver denarii of this type moved through official disbursement channels, paying soldiers and public officials before dispersing into private commerce. Evidence from imperial hoards across Britain, Gaul, the Rhine frontier, and the Danubian provinces indicates that Hadrianic denarii circulated alongside earlier issues of Trajan and the Flavians for decades. Because denarii of Hadrian retained high silver purity relative to later devaluations under Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, and Septimius Severus, they remained an integral component of Roman silver circulation well into the third century AD. Surviving specimens show varying stages of wear, confirming that while type 1983 carried a specific political celebration at its time of striking, it served as ordinary, dependable currency in everyday Mediterranean markets.

References

1. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II, Part 3: From Hadrian to Antoninus Pius (AD 117-138) - Hadrian. p. 215, no. 1983
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum (BMCRE), Volume III: Nerva to Hadrian. pp. 338-345
3. RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) Hadrian 1983. ric.2_3(2).hdn.1983
4. Untersuchungen zur römischen Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil II: Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Hadrian. pp. 139-160