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Hadrian. AD 117-138. AV Aureus (19.5mm, 7.23 g, 6h). “Travel series” issue (“Provinces cycle”) – The province alone. Rome mint. Struck AD 132. HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, laureate and draped bust left / AEGYPTOS, Aegyptos, draped, reclining left, holding up sistrum in right hand and resting left arm on basket, snake to right of basket; to left, ibis standing right (not on column). RIC II.3 1478 (same dies as illustration); Strack 2941/ζ; Beckmann, Gold dies n1/AE1; Calicó 1186 (same dies as illustration); BMCRE 796 var. (bust type; same rev. die); Adda –; Biaggi –; Jameson –; Mazzini –; Karl-Josef Gilles, Der römische Goldmünzenschatz aus der Feldstraße in Trier (Trier. 2013), 17.2/15 (this coin, illustrated). Toned, a couple of faint hairlines. VF. Very rare.
From the PLZ Collection. Ex Jonathan P. Rosen Collection (Triton XXIII, 14 January 2020), lot 731; Roma XIV (21 September 2017), lot 726; Heidelberger Münzhandlung 64 (20 November 2014), lot 2559. Probably ex 1993 Feldstraße Hoard (CHRE 5501).
Egypt was home to the oldest civilization known to the Romans, and the Emperor Hadrian had a particular fascination with its history and mysteries. His third great imperial procession reached Alexandria in August of AD 130, where he set about bestowing his unusual benefactions while playing the royal tourist. Hadrian’s wife, the Empress Sabina, and her close friend, the well-known poetess Julia Balbilla, visited the Colossi of Memnon in November of AD 130, shortly after the mysterious drowning of Hadrian’s young favorite Antinoüs. The Colossi were two huge statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III located in Thebes, that were famous for uttering a “cry” when the sun rose. Balbilla recorded the imperial visit by engraving four of her own epigrams on the leg of one of the two huge statues, one of which rather provocatively praises Sabina:
Yesterday Memnon received [Hadrian's] wife in silence,
so that the beautiful Sabina might come back here again.
For the lovely form of our queen pleases you.
When she arrives, send forth a divine shout,
so the king won't be angry with you. As it is now,
you've fearlessly detained for too long his noble wedded wife.
And Memnon, trembling at the power of Hadrian,
suddenly spoke, and she rejoiced to hear it
This attractive gold aureus celebrating Hadrian’s visit to Egypt depicts the reclining female personification of the province holding a sistrum, a type of rattle used in religious ceremonies, while resting her elbow on a basket from which a snake emerges. Perhaps this is a reference to the death of Egypt’s last queen, Cleopatra VII, who supposedly smuggled a deadly asp into her chambers in similar basket? An ibis, sacred in Egypt, stands 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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