60, Lot: 116. Estimate $200. Sold for $187. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

HADRIAN. 117-138 AD. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.16 gm). Struck 134-138 AD. Laureate head left / Hadrian standing right, raising Africa, kneeling left and holding two grain ears; two grain ears between. RIC II 323 var. (roll); RSC 1230 var. (same). Toned VF, light porosity.

This coin commemorates Hadrian's tour of Africa in 128 AD. Apart from Egypt, Africa was the second largest supplier of grain to Rome and thus, of great strategic significance. In 123 AD Hadrian has suppressed an uprising of the Moors. Yet, since much of Rome's power was concentrated along the seacoast, and as the fontier's borders were often shifting, it was to ensure continued stability in this vital region that Hadrian made his visit there.