Hadrian AR Denarius, Rome AD 121-123, Pax seated left, RIC 592

Hadrian, Denarius, silver, reign 117–138, Rome, AD 121–123, 3.20 g, 18 mm. Obverse: IMP CAESAR TRAIAN HADRIANVS AVG, laureate bust right. Reverse: P M TR P COS III, Pax seated left holding Victory and branch. Struck at Rome during Hadrian’s COS III series on a compact flan with full legends, typical denarius fabric of the period. Reference: RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) Hadrian 592. This early Hadrianic issue presents the emperor’s continuity with Trajan in the obverse legend and promotes the imperial program of stability through the seated Pax type. Struck during the years around Hadrian’s third consulship, the coin reflects the shift from Trajan’s expansionist wars to consolidation of the provinces and maintenance of peace under tribunician power and pontifical authority.