Gold Aureus

This Aureus that was minted in 118CE in Rome. The obverse depicts the Emperor Hadrian dressed in military armour in a beaded border. The inscription reads IMP CAESAR TRAIAN HADRIANVS AVG - Imperator Caesar Trajan Hadrianus Augustus. The reverse depicts Concordia (harmony) seated on a throne, with one arm resting on a statue of Spes (hope), and the other arm reaching out and holding a patera. Underneath the throne is a cornucopia. The inscription on the reverse records Hadrian’s official offices: P M TRP COS II - Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestas, Second Consulship. There is also an exergue under the reverse image that reads CONCORD, which means harmony.

This coin was minted when Hadrian had still not arrived in Rome, and he did not have much influence over how the coins were to depict him or his reign. Many of Hadrian’s earliest coins were styled after the coins of the late emperor Trajan. Some of the coins minted in 117CE with Hadrian on them even included titles that Trajan held that had not yet been bestowed on Hadrian. This was corrected by late 117 - early 118CE, but it does indicate that the mint was not prepared for Hadrian to be the successor. Hadrian’s later coins showed a much simpler design and inscription on the obverse, depicting just the head and neck for the portrait and the inscription “Hadrianus Augustus”. This particular style of Aureus was modelled after a particular coin of Trajan’s with a similar design but depicting Fortuna on the throne instead of Concordia.