Hadrian. AD 117-138. AV Aureus (20mm, 6.96 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck late AD 121-123. Good Fine.

CNG Feature Auction 133
Lot: 557. Estimated: $ 3 000

Roman Imperial, Coin-in-Hand Video, Gold

Sold For $ 7 500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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Hadrian. AD 117-138. AV Aureus (20mm, 6.96 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck late AD 121-123. Laureate head right / Hercules standing with head right, resting on club and holding apples(?); flanked by two female figures (Hesperides?) within distyle temple. Below temple, river-god (Baetis?) reclining right; to left, prow left. RIC II.3 575 (same dies as illustration); Calicó 1321; BMCRE 99, pl. 48, 19 (same dies); Adda 152 (same dies); cf. Elkins, Monuments Figure 126. Gouge on obverse. Good Fine. Very rare.

This aureus refers to the shrine of Hercules located in Gades (mod. Cadíz). The figure of Hercules is sometimes flanked by two female figures, who may represent the Hesperides, the mythical people to whom Hercules went in fulfilment of his penultimate labor to recover the Golden Apples of the Hesperides. Gades was not only an ancient and wealthy port city, and the ancestral home of Hadrian's mother, but it was also the edge of the known world. Beyond lay the Atlantic Ocean, possibly represented by the water-god at the shrine's base. Thus, Hadrian proclaims not only his Spanish origin, but also his kinship with Hercules through his own labors of traveling the whole of the Empire.

The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 133 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 15-16 September 2026.

CNG Feature Auction 133 – Session Two – Lot 309-594 will be held Tuesday morning, 15 September 2026 beginning at 2:00 PM 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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