71, Lot: 141. Estimate $75. Sold for $71. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

HADRIAN. 117-138 AD. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.29 gm). Struck 134-138. Bare head right / Africa reclining left, holding scorpion and cornucopiae; basket containing grain ears and fruit behind at feet. RIC II 299; RSC 138. Toned VF.

This denarius commemorates Hadrian's second tour of Africa. Apart from Egypt, Africa was the second largest supplier of grain to Rome and thus, of great strategic significance. In 123 AD Hadrian suppressed an uprising of the Moors there. 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 the continued stability of this vital region that Hadrian made his visit there.