Hadrian Silver Denarius RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) Hadrian 53

Monetary Context and Imperial Accession

The emission catalogued as RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) Hadrian 53 belongs to the critical transitional phase of Roman imperial coinage struck in AD 117 immediately following the death of Trajan. When Trajan died at Selinus in August AD 117, Hadrian's elevation to the purple required swift and decisive ideological reinforcement across the empire. The denarius served as the central silver denominational instrument for disseminating political legitimacy to the legions, administrative elites, and commercial networks. This specific issue was struck at the capital to broadcast the peaceful transfer of power, emphasizing imperial harmony and continuity during a moment of profound political delicacy.

Production and Mint Organization

The entire attested production of this type is assigned to the imperial mint of Rome. Operating under the oversight of imperial procurators and established mint personnel, the Rome workshops manufactured these silver denarii according to standard high-volume striking techniques. The coin conforms to the standard weight and fineness expectations of early second-century Roman imperial silver, theoretically averaging around 3.2 to 3.4 grams struck from silver refined to approximately 80 to 90 percent purity. Die pairing and production sequences demonstrate that this type formed part of the first distinct emission phase of Hadrian's first consulship, manufactured before the administrative reforms and extensive titular shifts of AD 118 and AD 119.

Obverse Portraiture and Style

The obverse design presents a right-facing bust of Hadrian wearing a laurel wreath. Consistent with the earliest issues of his principate, his chest is rendered bare with minimal drapery visible over the far left shoulder. Numismatic scholars frequently observe that portraits in this inaugural emission retain strong stylistic echoes of Trajan's late coinage. The engravers at Rome had not yet encountered the new emperor in person, relying on official sculpted portraits or imperial dispatches sent from the eastern provinces. Hadrian is shown with short, curled hair and a neatly trimmed beard, introducing a landmark departure from previous imperial grooming conventions.

Reverse Iconography of Concordia

The reverse iconography centers on Concordia, the personification of civic, military, and political agreement, seated upon a throne facing left. In her right hand she holds a patera, a libation bowl representing religious piety and sacrifice. Her left elbow rests upon a small statuette of Spes, the personification of hope, highlighting the future continuity of the Roman state under the new princeps. Beneath her throne rests a cornucopia, the traditional horn of plenty symbolizing abundance and prosperity. This sophisticated allegorical combination was carefully chosen to reassure Roman citizens and soldiers that the transition of imperial authority would yield tranquility, material stability, and unbroken dynastic succession.

Epigraphic Program and Inscriptions

The inscriptions on this type provide essential chronological and legal parameters. The obverse legend reads IMP CAES TRAIAN HADRIANO AVG DIVI TRA, presenting Hadrian in the dative or nominative formula and explicitly linking his nomenclature to the divine Trajan. The reverse legend continues this programmatic statement with PARTH F DIVI NER NEP P M TR P COS, recording him as Parthici Filius (son of Trajan Parthicus) and Divi Nervae Nepos (grandson of the deified Nerva), alongside his offices of Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestas, and Consul. In the exergue, the word CONCORD explicitly defines the personification, reinforcing the legal validity of Hadrian's adoption and constitutional authority.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the revised classification of Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC II, Part 3, second edition), type 53 is placed in the initial Rome mint emission of AD 117. It corresponds closely to the foundational typology established by Paul L. Strack in his 1933 corpus and Harold Mattingly in BMCRE III. The type is demarcated from later Hadrianic denarii by its specific combination of the early obverse title invoking Divus Trajan and the reverse formula bearing Hadrian's first consulship without an iterative consular number. When Hadrian assumed his second consulship (COS II) on January 1, AD 118, this legend arrangement was superseded, anchoring the issue securely to late AD 117.

Circulation Patterns and Monetary Life

Denarii of RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) Hadrian 53 circulated extensively across the Roman Empire alongside late Flavian and Trajanic silver. Because Trajan had thoroughly demonetized and recalled pre-Neronian base silver following his monetary reform around AD 107, early Hadrianic denarii formed part of a unified, stable silver pool. Hoard data from the northwestern provinces, the Danube frontier, and Roman Britain demonstrate that specimens of Hadrian's accession issues remained in active commercial and military circulation for decades, frequently surviving in hoards deposited during the Antonine and Severan periods.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. III: Nerva to Hadrian. p. 240
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) Hadrian 53. ric.2_3(2).hdn.53
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II, Part 3: From Hadrian to Antoninus Pius (AD 117-138) - Hadrian (2nd ed.). Hadrian 53
4. Untersuchungen zur romischen Reichspragung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil II: Die Reichspragung zur Zeit des Hadrian. Type 15