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Hadrian. AD 117-138. AV Aureus (18mm, 6.87 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 124-125. HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS, laureate bust right, slight drapery / COS above, III in exergue, she-wolf standing left, suckling the twins, Romulus and Remus. RIC II.3 709; Strack 195α; Calicó 1233a; BMCRE 449; Adda 131; Biaggi 598; Mazzini 422. Lustrous, lightly toned. NGC Photo Certificate graded MS, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5, Fine Style. Bold portrait.
From the PLZ Collection. Ex Triton XIX (5 January 2016), lot 540; Numismatica Ars Classica 84 (20 May 2015), lot 991.
This coin kicked off my Hadrian subcollection, and what better start than the she-wolf with Romulus and Remus. As with all of Hadrian's coins, a fabulously artistic portrait. (PLZ)
Publius Aelius Hadrianus was born during the reign of Vespasian in AD 76, probably at the Spanish provincial town of Italica. His father died when he was 10 years old, at which point he became the ward of his distant relation Trajan, another Spaniard who had risen to become one of Rome’s most powerful generals. When he was 14 Trajan called him to Rome to further his education. A few years later, perhaps to please his guardian, he joined the Roman army as a tribune and served with two legions along the Danube frontier.
He would later go through a series of minor political positions that offered entry to the Roman Senate, becoming quaestor and praetor, but had to endure the snickers of his peers due to his provincial origins and accent. He never forgot the slight. He returned to the army in AD 97 and soon learned that Trajan had been named as the emperor Nerva’s chosen successor, whereupon he undertook an arduous journey on horseback and foot to bring the news to his guardian, who was in camp along the Rhine frontier. A few months later, Nerva died and quite suddenly Hadrian was the closest male relative, and likely heir, to the emperor of Rome.
He spent Trajan’s lengthy reign performing duties for the emperor, including two consulships, finally serving as governor of the critical province of Syria during the Parthian War of AD 115-117. In the war’s disastrous aftermath, Trajan weakened and died on August 8, AD 117, naming Hadrian as his successor on his death bed. Although the terms of the “adoption” were questioned by some, Hadrian advanced to the throne uncontested. He immediately moved to withdraw from the turbulent regions Trajan had overrun, bolstered threatened frontiers, and eliminated by proxy a cadre of ex-consuls who opposed his policy of retrenchment and consolidation.
Hadrian is known to modern scholars for four important reasons. Firstly, he seemed never to care much for the city of Rome and spent most of his reign on a series of extensive travels throughout the empire, visiting nearly every province. He took a keen personal interest in provincial affairs, usually with benefactions and improvements that were welcomed and appreciated by the local populace. His travel-series coinage, with many types found in this collection, are one of the most popular collecting themes in all of Roman coinage. Perhaps his most enduring legacy is “Hadrian’s Wall” constructed to separate the province of Britannia from the barbarians to the north. While in Rome, modern tourists can view one of Hadrian’s most impressive rebuilding projects with a visit to the Pantheon. Originally built by Marcus Agrippa, the building, except for the original façade, was completely rebuilt under Hadrian, including its splendid concrete dome. His fourth surviving legacy is the construction of his wonderful villa at Tivoli, perhaps one of the most widely visited Roman ruins by tourists outside Rome itself. Sadly, his largely positive legacy is tarnished by his needless instigation, and ruthless prosecution, of the Bar Kochba Revolt in Judaea, circa AD 132-135.
Hadrian made full use of the propaganda value of coinage and his types in all metals are extensive and attractive. The reverse type of the she-wolf suckling the twins, Remus and Romulus, as seen here, is one of the most enduring memories of Rome’s mythical foundation. The type first appeared on Roman Republican coinage around 265 BC. The design reappeared under the Flavians but would not be minted extensively until the reign of Domitian. It would be renewed by Hadrian at, or after, his third consulship. This firmly places the date of the coin to the period of AD 124 to 128. Although Hadrian was widely known for his admiration of Greek culture, his use of the wolf-and-twins type points to his reverence for Roman history and institutions, if not the city itself.
The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 132 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 18-19 May 2026.
CNG Feature Auction 132 – Session One – Lot 1-318 will be held Monday morning, 18 May 2026 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
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