We could post here the differents coins of Hadrian's travel and try to do all his travel with the coins. I start with my only one, a little trip in Dacia. Dupondius or AS. Weight : 13,71 gr. Head and bust nudes / Head turn on the right. HADRIANVS AVG COS III PP / DACIA Ric 850 / Cohen 531
What a nice patina and excellent reverse! I have two travel series denarii, the most common ones: Africa HADRIAN. CE 117-138 AR Denarius. 18 mm, 3.53 gm. struck CE 134-138, Rome Obv: HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, laureate head right Rev: AFRICA, Africa with elephant skin headdress, reclining on rock, holding scorpion and cornucopia, basket of fruit before her Ref: RIC II 299 Egypt HADRIAN AR Denarius. 18 mm, 2.95 gm. struck CE 134-138, Rome Obv: HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, bare head right Rev: AEGYPTOS; Aegyptos reclining left holding sistrum; ibis standing right at feet Ref: RIC II 297
And we could try to have all the coins for one travel : denarius / as dupondius / sestertius / aureus...
A year or two ago my collection branched out from 12 Caesars to include coins of Hadrian. His imperial coins are of universally high engraving quality and high minting standards. As of this time, I have only two travel series coins but am actively pursuing others. One of my first ventures into this area resulted in a high-quality forgery, documented in this thread: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/hadrian-aureus-a-tale-of-subtle-differences.283959/ More recently I've had the good fortune to add both an aureus and sestertius: HADRIAN 117 - 138 A.D. AE Sestertius (25.62 g.) Rome ca. 134 - 138 A.D. RIC 840 HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P Laureate head of Hadrian right Rev. Africa, draped, wearing elephant-skin headdress, recl. L, r. hand holding scorpion, cornucopia behind. HADRIAN 117 - 138 A.D. AV Aureus (7.15 g.) Rome ca. 134 - 138 A.D. RIC II -- cf. 298g HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P bare head of Hadrian r. Rev. Africa, draped, wearing elephant-skin headdress, recl. L, r. hand on neck of lion stg. L. grain ears behind
Could you said a little more for each of them : denominations, references etc. ? For the first, is it a sestertius or an AS ?
My only travel coin depicts the imperial galley, which carried the emperor and his immediate entourage from port to port on their travels. It was most likely struck on the occasion of the return of Hadrian to Rome at the end of his second great journey (AD 128-31). The accompanying legend celebrates the emperor's happiness on his safe homecoming after such an extended absence. According to Sear, the fine style of the obverse portrait, accentuated by the scarce left-facing rendering, reveals the strong influence of Hellenic art and culture which was such a feature of Hadrian's principate. HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS, laureate head of Hadrian left / [FELICITATI AVG](around), COS III P P (in exergue) Sestertius, Rome 131 (seemingly the third recorded specimen) 30,88 mm / 23,79 gr Cayón (Los Sestercios del Imperio Romano II) p. 97, 316 (same dies), citing Ratto (Roma Imperiale nelle Monete di Adriano e di sua famiglia); Cohen 689, citing specimen in Bibliothèque nationale, Paris = RIC 703k = BMCRE p. 451, 1392 note = Strack (Untersuchungen zur Römischen Reichsprägung des Zweiten Jahrhunderts) 838
Here's my Nilus travel aureus, which found its way into my collection via a convoluted path. The series is arguably one of the most aesthetic and I could definitely foresee myself adding at least one other travel coin at some point: HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, bare head of Hadrian left / No legend, Nilus reclining left, half draped, holding cornucopia cradled in right arm, left arm resting on sphinx rearing right; before him, hippopotamus walking right with head raised and mouth open, below, crocodile advancing left amid waves on river embankment. RIC --, cf. 312a (bare head right, Nilus holds reed). BMCRE --, 867 note (same). Calicó --, cf. 1161 (same). Extremely rare, an apparently unrecorded and possibly unique variety of this highly attractive travel issue, the reverse die of extraordinary artistry. And, from the auction description (as I haven't had a chance to write a broader historical context for any of my newer coins): "Hadrian's career of traveling the length and breadth of the Roman Empire culminated in an extended visit to Egypt in AD 130-131, accompanied by a vast entourage that included his wife Sabina and his young protégé and lover, the handsome Bithynian Antinous. During a barge trip up the Nile, Antinous fell overboard and drowned, plunging the emperor into extravagant grief. The incident is shrouded in mystery, with some gossips suggesting that the youth had sacrificed himself in some strange ritual to restore Hadrian's failing health. Whatever the manner of death, Hadrian ordained that Antinous be deified and worshipped as a god, not by the Roman Senate or people, but by the Greek denizens of the Empire who held a more sympathetic view of their emperor's "forbidden love." Hadrian finally returned from his travels in circa 132 and retired to his lavishly decorated villa at Tivoli, where Egypt and the Nile were given special prominence. His famous Travel Series of coins was struck during his final years, perhaps as a personal remembrance of his imperial wanderings. This remarkable aureus, of a variety not recorded in the standard references, boasts an astonishing reverse depiction of the river god Nilus surrounded by the fauna of Egypt, rendered in the highest artistry of the age. Unusually, the reverse bears no legend, leaving the engraver's work to speak for itself."
Hadrian visiting Spain: Denarius, Restitutori Hispaniae Hadrian Sestertius - Inspecting the Legions Stationed in Syria And some of the boats he used to get there: Galley Sestertius: Galley Dupondius:
Extraordinary reverse ! Here, it's not only a coin, it's art. BTW i love the novel Hadrian's memories (in French Mémoires d'Hadrien) by Marguerite Yourcenar. We have the feeling to be in his head, it's incredible, it's a masterpiece.
There is some disagreement on what to include in the 'Travel Series'. Purists might only allow the coins with a one word place name 'Africa' or 'Alexandria' while others will include anything wit a boat or commemorating a building project somewhere in the Empire. I am in the last mentioned group. The as below shows Hadrian as restorer of Africa. That is slightly different from just going there. This denarius (not mine) shows Oceanus posing a lot like we see on the travel figures but the legends are offices rather than stating 'Ocean'. To include this one might be more of a stretch.