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Hadrian. AD 117-138. AV Aureus (19mm, 7.02 g, 6h). “Travel series” issue (“Provinces cycle”) – The province alone. Rome mint. Struck AD 133-134. HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, bare head left / HISP ANIA, Hispania, draped, reclining left, holding up olive branch in right hand and resting left arm on rock; to left, a rabbit right. RIC II.3 1530 (same dies as illustration); Strack 3031/δo; Beckmann, Gold dies j4/H1, aa (this coin); Calicó 1273 (same dies as illustration); BMCRE 844 (same dies); Biaggi 615 (same dies); Mazzini 828 (same dies). Good VF. Fine style.
From the PLZ Collection. Ex Jonathan P. Rosen Collection (Triton XXIII, 14 January 2020), lot 733; Heritage 3056 (3 August 2017), lot 30016.
Hadrian is often identified as a "Spanish" emperor, one of four famous Spaniards who attained the imperial purple (the other three being his predecessor, Trajan, and the fourth-century rulers Theodosius I the Great and Magnus Maximus). Hadrian’s family, the Aelii, had centuries-long roots in Roman Spain and rose to wealth and prominence there. Hadrian spent much of his youth on family estates in Baetica, but upon entering public life his Spanish origins became something of an embarrassment when his peers laughed at him for speaking with a foreign accent. Upon becoming Emperor, Hadrian seems to have never felt comfortable in Rome and spent most of his 21-year reign traveling, eventually visiting nearly every province of the Roman Empire. He honored the unique ethnicity and cultural identify of each place he visited with a remarkable series of coins, including this beautiful aureus celebrating his homeland of Hispania. Here, the graceful figure of Hispania holds an olive branch, symbolic of the province’s huge production of olive oil, an important staple in the ancient world. A rabbit, then and now common to the plains of Spain, rests at her feet.
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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