Sestertius of Hadrian

Dave Waller said he found this large Roman coin whilst he was detecting in Lincolnshire. I was asked to give a valuation on Dave’s find.
The coin is a sestertius of Hadrian, whose dates are AD 117-38. This is the man who ordered the erection of a long wall across the north of England to protect the border from invaders.

On the obverse is a laureate head facing right and if the whole of the legend could be seen then it would read HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P. On the reverse the standing figure of Diana holds a bow and an arrow and is flank by S C; this stands for Senatus Consulto, which translates as ‘By Order of the Senate’.

In volume II of David Sear’s Roman Coins and Their Values a sestertius of this type is listed as number 3645. It was struck at Rome during AD 136.

Valuation

Part of the legend on the obverse is weak and there a noticeable striking crack in the edge but this sestertius is otherwise in near VF condition. It also has a nice pale green patina and no corrosion, which is unusual for a detecting find. Without the edge crack I’d have said more but because of this defect my price range would be no higher than £80-100.

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