Hadrian, 117-138, Sestertius

Hadrian, sestertius, AE, AD 117–138; Rome, struck AD 134–138; 24.31 g; 32 mm. HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, laureate head right. RESTITVTORI PHRYGIAE S C, Hadrian standing left, extending his right hand to raise the kneeling personification of Phrygia; S C in field. Tooled. RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) 1889–1893. This RESTITVTORI type forms part of Hadrian’s late provincial benefaction series, proclaiming the emperor as “restorer” of named regions visited during his travels. Phrygia, a region of west-central Asia Minor, appears among several provinces singled out for imperial aid, civic improvements, and reconstruction; the S C confirms senatorial authority over the aes coinage while the series as a whole advertised cohesive imperial welfare under Hadrian in the final years of his reign.