Hadrian Britannia

After reading @jamesicus ' posts on coins of Roman Britain I wanted to find a coin with an early depiction of Britannia. I would have loved to have gotten the sestertius, but they are out of my price range. One sold on CNG for 30000 dollars. I shall just have to be satisfied with this humble As.

In August I was exhibiting at the RCNA show in Toronto and a friend who is associated with an auction house told me that there was an auction in September and that I might be interested in one of the coins. Having seen the catalogue days before I thought I knew which one he was talking about. He told me it was this Hadrian As and that he could show me the coin the next day. So the next day I was walking the bourse and he comes up to me with the coin. The coin looks much better in person than in the photo. If I was relying on the photo I might not have bid. So the coin came up for auction earlier tonight and I managed to win it. It truly feels that I have bought a piece of history. Britannia was referred to on a number of Roman coins (sometimes as Brit in the legend) but having the full name spelled out is not common. The British also used a version of Britannia for many years on their coins.

I am not sure if the auction house was correct in referring to this as the first appearance of Britannia on a coin, but I know it is at least a very early depiction.

I am quite excited that I have won this coin and can hardly wait to receive the coin. Because it was a Canadian auction it will not be long, plus I do not have to worry about currency conversion.

Please post your coins of Britannia, coins of Hadrian, or anything else you consider relevant.






Hadrian AS
(24mm, 7.52g)
Obv: Laureate bust r.
Rev: Britannia std. facing r., hd. propped on hand, holding sceptre with large shield at side.
RIC 577b; gF, turquoise patina;
Rare - first representation of Britannia on Roman coinage.

 

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wow! neat coin Orfew...i got a peep who would love to see it..

 

I saw this one (put in a couple of cheap bids on other coins, and lost)... I stayed away because I was worried it was a cast. (Really looks like it in the photo.) But you saw it in hand... are you sure it isn't cast?

 

I am sure. I held it in my hand and looked at it very closely. I also trust the person from the auction.

 

Great! That’s probably why you got such a good deal.

 

Back in the 80's and 90's when I was a collector of Hadrian I bought one of these on a trip to London. I had just come out of the British Museum and wandered into CoinCraft (I assume they are still there). I found one of these in nice VF for 60 pounds. It was a local field find, so it was a pretty cool coin for me at the time. Of course I no longer have it.

 

They indeed are. I bought a proof set from them.

 

I looked on OCRE and there are 10 examples. 6 or 7 of them are field finds. They are reported finds with the PAS.

 

Nice catch @Orfew! I have been seeking a decent example of the Hadrian Sestertius for many years but, as you discovered, they are very hard to find - and very expensive. I have passed (much to my regret now) on some examples in rough condition over the years - I have finally given up the pursuit and, as you can see, filled the slot with a replica. I have owned several examples of the Hadrian As that you posted, but I let them all go because they were too rough for my taste - now I wish I would have kept one example. Your coin is excellent with a very clear “Britannia” in the reverse exergue which makes it a very desirable collector coin. The Antoninus Pius As that I depict below has the same depiction of Britannia (and legend) as the Hadrian coins and, in my experience, has always been easier to find in nicer condition and at a cheaper price - although the one I depict here is rough.

When I was a young boy (in the 1930s) the copper pennies and half- pennies in circulation had Britannia reverses - I have included a photo of a 1929 (my birth year) penny. I also have included photos of a couple of examples of Britannia reverses on other British coins. Follow the Royal Mint link for a brief history of the Britannia coin reverse.

Royal Mint Web Page: Britannia on British Coins.

Roman Coins with Britannia Inscriptions


RIC Vol. II, HADRIAN, Sestertius, No. 845 - REPLICA COIN
Obverse: Hadrian, laureate head right
Inscription: HADRIANVS AVG COS III PP
Reverse: Britannia seated half left with feet on rocks holding sceptre with shield to right
Inscription: BRITANNIA - SC (in exergue)


RIC II, ANTONINUS PIUS, As, No. 934
Obverse: Antoninus Pius, laureate, draped, bust facing right
Inscription clockwise from bottom: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP TRP XVIII
Reverse: Britannia seated left on rock, shield and vexillum in background
Inscription: BRITANNIA COS IIII - S C (exergue)

British Coins with Britannia Inscriptions
Derived from Roman coinage


BRITISH HALF PENNY TOKEN (legal tender at Liverpool & Bristol)
Obverse: portrait of Admiral Lord Howe (victor over French Fleet)
Inscription: EARL HOWE & THE GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE
Reverse: Britannia, seated left, holding spear with right hand and resting left arm on shield
Inscription: RULE BRITANNIA - 1794 (in exergue)


BRITISH TWO PENCE (Circulated)
Obverse: George III, laureate and draped bust, facing right
Inscription: GEORGIUS III D G REX
Reverse: Britannia, seated left, on rock over ocean waves, cradling trident in left arm and holding olive branch in right hand
Inscription: BRITANNIA - 1797


BRITISH PENNY (Circulated)
Obverse: George V, bare headed, facing left
Inscription: GEORGIVS V DEI GRA BRITT OMN REX FID DEF IND IMP
Reverse: Britannia wearing Corinthian helmet, seated right, holding trident with left hand and supporting shield with right hand
Inscription: ONE PENNY - 1929 (in exergue)

 

@Orfew:

I added the following to my previous post via edit:

Your coin is excellent with a very clear “Britannia” in the reverse exergue which makes it a very desirable collector coin.

 

Thank you @jamesicus

It was the clear lettering of Britannia that attracted me to the coin.

Thanks also for your excellent post above on the history behind representations of Britannia on coins.

 

I really love Britannia coins hence the name. I have a almost complete victoria 1/2D set and semi Victoria 1D set. but I sold them to make room for my daughters Chinese set. I did keep a complete 1770-1807 complete 1/2D set. Most are MS. I also kept a 1797 AU55 2D. And one AU58 1752. I obtained all raw then graded them after for the registry set.

 

Well @britannia40, your enthusiasm for Britannic coins is very evident!
Of course, I applaud you for that, but let me add a comment that is offered by me in the most friendly and respectful way: some members of this Forum may not like your posting of so many encapsulated (slabbed) “modern” coins. I think it is safe to say that slabbed coins are generally not liked by this community. So in the interest of Forum tranquility I would, as Erin (and others) might say “cool it” in posting them

I think many of us have “side” or mini-collections of Ancient (and/or) non-Ancient coins. I have one: silver crowns of Charles II (my favorite British Monarch). I seldom get to show them, so in a rather sneaky way here are a couple:

Charles II 1662 silver Crown


CAROLVS · II·DEI·GRA · …………………… MAG·BR·FRA·ET·HIB·REX·1662·
(Rose below draped bust)
first and third reverse shields have English and French arms quartered

Edge Inscription: * + * DECVS ET TVTAMEN
(An Ornament and a Safeguard)

Diameter: 40mm (first issue large flan)
Weight: 29.57gm

Charles II 1671 silver Crown


CAROLVS·II · DEI·GRATIA ...............……… MAG BR·FRA·ET·HIB·REX·16(71)·

Edge Inscription: · DECVS · ET · TVTAMEN · ANNO · REGNI · VICESIMO · TERTIO
(An Ornament and a Safeguard)

Diameter: 38mm
Weight: 29.58gm

 

Congratulations, Andrew, in obtaining a coin for your collection that means so much to you!. Very nice.
(I guess it is similar with me with coins bearing the VARVS countermark...)

 

Nice historical piece! Congratulations on such a find.

 

Am I the only one thinking that it has a "soft" look?

 

No, Sev speculated about that upthread and I also wonder. Is it possible for a patina to be so thick that it causes that soapy device-field appearance so uniformly all over the coin?

Edited: The examples in OCRE are all weakly struck and one has a similarly soapy appearance.

 

I missed his comment. It will be interesting to see how the coin is in hand.

 

I gather that Orfew attended the auction and lot-viewed.

 

While I did not attend the auction, I did, as @TIF mentioned, have the opportunity to examine this coin in hand back in August. It is perfectly acceptable "in hand".