120, Lot: 155. Estimate $1000. Sold for $1310. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

HADRIAN. 117-138 AD. Æ Sestertius (33mm, 21.06 g). Struck 134-138 AD. Laureate head right / DISCIPLIN AVG in exergue, Hadrian , holding roll, advancing right, followed by officer and three soldiers carrying standards. RIC II 746 var. (DISCIPLINA); BMCRE 1484 note; Cohen 543. VF, tan patina, rough surfaces.

The discussion in RIC notes that this reverse type "celebrates the military reforms of the Emperor", without defining what specific event triggered the commemoration on this sestertius. It is most likely related to the conclusion of the last great military campaign of Hadrian's reign, the Bar Kochba revolt in Judaea (132-135 AD). As an internal revolt, not an operation against foreign foes, the war did not warrant a coinage commemorating its end, but this coin would indirectly mark its conclusion, praising the legions for their steadfastness while stressing the reordering of the armies for peacetime and the standing down from a war footing.

From the Tony Hardy Collection.