372, Lot: 438. Estimate $200. Sold for $1200. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Hadrian. AD 117-138. Æ Sestertius (32mm, 26.81 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 134-138. Bareheaded and draped bust right / Hadrian advancing right, followed by an officer and three soldiers carrying signa; DISCIPLINA/ AVG in exergue. RIC II 746; Banti 242. Near Fine, dark brown surfaces. Rare.

From the estate of Thomas Bentley Cederlind.

The discussion of this type in RIC (p. 327) notes it "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 (AD 132-135). As an internal revolt, not an operation against foreign foes, the war did not warrant a coinage explicitly commemorating its end, but this type could indirectly mark its conclusion, praising the legions for their steadfastness while stressing the re-ordering of the armies for peacetime and the standing down from a war footing.