Hadrian. AD 117-138. Æ Sestertius (34mm, 25.67 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 119-circa mid 120. VF.

Triton XXVII
Lot: 753. Estimated: $ 1 000

Roman Imperial, Bronze, Coin-in-Hand Video

Sold For $ 800. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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Hadrian. AD 117-138. Æ Sestertius (34mm, 25.67 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 119-circa mid 120. IMP CAESAR TRAIANVS HADRIANVS AVG P M TR P COS III, laureate bust with bare chest right, slight drapery / RELIQVA VETERA HS NOVIES MILL ABOLITA, S C in exergue, Lictor, wearing short tunic and cloak, standing left, with brand in right hand setting fire to a heap of bonds on ground to left, and holding fasces with ax upright in left hand; to left, three citizens standing right, raising right hands in celebration. RIC II.3 264; Strack 556-7; Banti 622; BMCRE 1208. Dark green-brown patina, earthen deposits, scratch on obverse. VF.

From the CLA Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 66 (19 May 2004), lot 1445.

To promote his popularity, Hadrian cancelled debts and burned promissory notes in a general amnesty for tax arrears, the event this sestertius commemorates. The reverse depicts either Hadrian himself or a lictor applying a torch to a heap of documents (sungrafoi) symbolizing the debts being cancelled. The burning occurred in Trajan’s Forum, where Hadrian erected a monument inscribed “the first of all principes and the only one who, by remitting nine hundred million sesterces owed to the fiscus, provided security not merely for his present citizens but also for their descendants by this generosity."

The legend RELIQVA VETERA HS NOVIES MILL ABOLITA literally translates to “old receipts in the amount of nine times a hundred thousand sestertii cancelled." The HS is a standard abbreviation for sestertii and, depending upon its context, it can mean a single sestertius, a unit of one thousand sestertii, or a unit of one hundred thousand sestertii. Novies means "nine times" and applies to the sestertius as a unit of one thousand sestertii. Considering the monumental inscription, the HS in the legend of this sestertius should be interpreted with the thousand, or mille, understood. Thus, the figure should be increased to 900 million sestertii, equaling the sum named on Hadrian’s monumental inscription.

The final winners of all Triton XXVII lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 9-10 January 2024.

Triton XXVII – Session Three – Lot 648–983 will be held Wednesday morning, 10 January 2024 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.

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