I attempted to buy a scale book from a company in France. They accepted the order, could not find the book and put me on their email list. When their first newsletter arrived, I saw a coin that I HAD to have. I like scales on Roman coins and this one of Hadrian looks good to me. It will go well with my talk on scales at the ANA meeting in March. How can I tell who is holding the scale? Roman Imperial denarius, Hadrian 119 - 122 AD, Rome Obverse - IMP CAESAR TRAIAN HADRIANVS AVG, Laureate bust facing right, draped on left shoulder Reverse - P M TR P COS III, Moneta or Aequitas standing and facing left, holding a scale in her right hand and a cornucopia in her left hand Weight – 3.22 grams Diameter – 18 mm RIC 80 How to tell Moneta from Aequitas? I looked on acsearch for coins of Hadrian that also had scales and found 578 examples. Some were duplicates, not Hadrian or part of lots. A few were worn enough that lettering could not be read. I could separate 454 into groups as follows: Based on the table above, I'd guess my coin has a MONETA on the reverse. Hadrian coin dates are identified by title in Historical References to coins of the Roman Empire by E A Sydenham. His list is given below. Date range - titles AD 117 - TR.P; COS; IMP AD 118 - TR.P.II; COS.II.DES.III; IMP.II AD 119 - TR.P.III; COS.III; IMP.II AD 120 to 138 - TR.P.IV to XXI; COS.III; IMP.II Coins with reverse inscriptions of AEQVITAS (holding staff) & MONETA (holding cornucopia) are shown below -
I think Moneta would be more likely to hold a cornucopia. Anything else, and my first guess would be Aequitas.
I consider the accoutrements of a deity to fall into two categories: primary and secondary. Primary attributes are distinctive, but secondary attributes may or may not may be determinative. For example, take this denarius of Faustina the Elder. The reverse figure is not explicitly identified; rather, the reverse inscription denotes the late empress' title of Augusta. We note that on coins of Faustina I with the reverse legend CERES, Ceres is always portrayed holding corn-ears and torch. The corn-ears are a primary attribute and are not used by other personifications; therefore, a figure holding corn-ears should be identified as Ceres. The torch is also used by other deities, such as Vesta and Diana, but unless other attributes indicate a different interpretation, the torch is also determinative of Ceres. In the case of your Hadrian, the reverse figure has no primary attribute, for neither scales nor cornucopiae belong to Moneta or Aequitas alone. Both are secondary attributes. But you have done the research needed to identify if one or the other is determinative. The scales appear with the cornucopiae ONLY on the coins of Moneta and the cornucopiae is thus determinative of Moneta. Therefore, on the coins of Hadrian, an unnamed figure with both scales and cornucopiae is Moneta.
Interesting post (and nice coin). Issued around the same time as the OP denarius, I have an as of Hadrian. It features the "chesty" portrait and is without the reverse identifying inscription - I just went with Moneta-Aequitas since that's what OCRE called it. The condition is pretty poor and a big blob of patina obscures the scales (I think those are scales under there). She holds a sceptre on this one (also hard to see): Hadrian Æ As (c. 120-121 A.D.) Rome Mint IMP CAESAR TRAIANVS [HAD]RIANVS AVG: laureate bust, bare chest, slight drapery on far shoulder, right / PONT MAX TR POT COS III S C, Aequitas-Moneta standing left, holding scales and sceptre RIC II, 3 442 (old RIC 576). (7.52 grams / 25 mm) eBay Feb. 2021
Nice coin. I did not see coins with PONTMAX on the reverse, only PM... Your coin looks a bit like one sold by ROMA last year. I have seen several where the scales are behind or covered by the S in SC. Your coin looks to have a bit of overlap.
