Reference. Very rare RIC 590b; Banti 620; Strack ; C 1210 Obv. IMP CAES TRAIANVS HADRIANVS AVG P M TR P COS III Laureat bust right, slight drapery Rev. RELIQVA VETERA HS NOVIES MILL ABOLITA / S - C Lictor standing left, holding fasces, setting fire to heap of bonds with torch. 25.59 gr 32 mm 6h Notes. In July of AD 118 Hadrian made his first appearance in Rome as emperor to celebrate a Parthian triumph in the name of Trajan. He was quickly called away to Moesia to subdue the Sarmatians and Roxolani. While away, four high ranking senators – LuciusQuietus, Cornelius Palma, L. Publius Celsus and C. Avidius – were executed by the senate for an alleged conspiracy against Hadrian, despite a promise by Hadrian not to execute members of the Senate. To calm a suspicious public, Hadrian held a week long gladiatorial show, granted an extra public largesse, and, as this coin advertises, relinquished the public debt to the state equaling 900 million sestertii. This event culminated in an elaborate ceremony held in the Forum of Trajan where all records of these debts were set on fire. I was wondering why such an important coin is so rare, and why only on sestertii? Sorry for the links done this on ipad so ...
Last time I was visiting Rome about 5 years back, there were some marble friezes in the Senate house in the Forum showing the burning of the public debts.
I've often wondered the same thing about other emperors and types. As coins were used as possibly the best form of propaganda at the time, why not issue the type for years and by the millions?
Wonderful coin @Okidoki !!! Like so many of us, I LOVE when a coin refers to or depicts an actually known event or action.
That type is rare. I'm not sure it was as popular as they hoped it would be. Forgiving debts is risky politically. Sure, those rich people with huge debts make out like bandits, but the rest, without debt, realize they've been screwed. They paid their debts like good citizens and others got away without doing it. This policy can't be popular with the masses, although if it is "spun" right, maybe it would be. It is like promising to lower taxes (sounds good!) and hoping you won't notice they are not your taxes being lowered.
