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Message:: [QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 3165495, member: 75937"]TIF's reluctance to help you stems from the fact that many people posting here for the first time are dealers who like to use us as a free attribution service. That's taking advantage of us. We are happy to help out a fellow collector. Because your profile says you're 15 years old, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you are sincere in your request and not some part-time, online dealer taking advantage of our goodwill. When you post a coin, crop the image and don't just post a thumbnail. I've done this for you. Here's a bigger and better photo of your coin's obverse: [ATTACH=full]813599[/ATTACH] Here's a bigger and better photo of your coin's reverse: [ATTACH=full]813596[/ATTACH] Do you see the reverse inscription? It reads P M TR P COS III. That's the date. Hadrian was Pontifex Maximus (P M; meaning "high priest"), given Tribunicia Potestas (TR P; "Tribunician Power") for the first time (otherwise it would say TR P II or some other number) and was Consul for the third time (COS III) when this coin was struck. The figure on the back is female -- she wears feminine clothing and has her hair in a long plait in the back. She is therefore a goddess or personification of a Roman value. She is standing left and sacrificing out of a patera over a lighted altar and holding a scepter and leaning on a column. The patera and scepter are a few of this personification's attributes (she often holds a branch instead of a patera; she often leans on a column, as in this case), and experienced collectors are often able to identify her from these attributes alone. But you don't need to -- her name is abbreviated in the exergue: CLEM, for Clementia. You might be able to guess that this is taken into English as clemency (mercy). In attributing a coin, we give the issuing authority and his dates, the metal from which it is made, the denomination, the size and weight (and often the die-axis), the mint producing the coin, the date of the coin, the obverse inscription, the bust description, the reverse inscription, a description of the reverse and references in which the coin is found. When describing the bust, we note any headdress (laureate, radiate, diademed, bare-headed, etc.), and the direction it is facing (left, right, facing, etc.). When describing the reverse, we note who or what is featured. If a god or goddess, whether s/he is standing or seated and which direction they face. The objects they are holding are mentioned from left to right (on the coin, not which hand the deity is holding them in). Therefore, this coin would be described as: Hadrian, AD 117-138Roman AR denarius (x g, x mm, x die-axis)Rome (mint), AD 119-122Obv: IMP CAESAR TRAIAN HADRIANVS AVG, laureate head, right.Rev: CLEM (in exergue), P M TR P COS III, Clementia standing left, sacrificing over altar and holding scepter, left elbow resting on column.References: RIC 117; BMCRE 252; RSC 214; RCV 3463. <a href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1211510&partId=1&searchText=Hadrian+Denarius+252&page=1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1211510&partId=1&searchText=Hadrian+Denarius+252&page=1" rel="nofollow">Here</a>'s the British Museum's example of a coin similar to yours (they don't have the one where Clementia is leaning on a column; it is listed erroneously in BMCRE as 252, but the curator of the collection notes, "BMC in error notes Clementia as resting on a column"): [ATTACH=full]813602[/ATTACH] Here's the page in RIC (Roman Imperial Coins), vol. 2 in which it appears (as 117): [ATTACH=full]813613[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]

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