Sestertius of Hadrian,119-121 CE.

Sestertius of Hadrian,119-121 CE. Weight c. 25.5 g; diameter 34 mm. Obverse legend IMP CAESAR TRAIANVS HADRIANVS AVG with laureate head right, slight drapery at far shoulder. Reverse legend PONT MAX T R POT COS III with S C in field; Roma seated left on cuirass, holding small Victory and vertical sceptre. Reference: RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) Hadrian 562b.

Issued early in Hadrian's reign, the type affirms his assumption of core priestly and constitutional titles ”pontifex maximus and tribunicia potestas" while projecting Rome's stability through the seated figure of Roma with Victory. The sestertius circulated widely throughout the provinces, supporting Hadrian's fiscal adjustments and accompanying his extensive travels that reinforced administrative cohesion across the empire.