Providence of the Gods
298, Lot: 159. Estimate $150. Sold for $380. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee. |
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Hadrian. AD 117-138. Æ Dupondius (26mm, 12.58 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 119-122. Radiate bust right, slight drapery / PROVIDENTIA DEORVM, Hadrian, togate, standing facing, head left, about to receive scepter from eagle. RIC II 603. Near VF, brown surfaces. Rare.
Ex Robert O. Ebert Collection; Harvey J. Hoffer Collection (Harmer Rooke, 12 December 1986), lot 888.
This interesting reverse type is meant to emphasize the legitimacy of Hadrian's rule: Jupiter's symbol, the eagle, bestowing to the emperor a scepter.