352, Lot: 421. Estimate $100. Sold for $80. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Hadrian. AD 117-138. Æ Sestertius (33mm, 22.59 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 119-121. Laureate bust right, slight drapery / PROV[IDENT]IA DEORVM, Hadrian, togate, standing facing, head left, about to receive scepter from eagle. RIC II 589b; Banti 617. Near VF, brown patina with patches of green, smoothing.

This fascinating reverse type is meant to emphasize the legitimacy of Hadrian's rule: Jupiter's symbol, the eagle, bestowing to the emperor a scepter. The scepter and eagle’s feet are visible on this specimen.