Chris’s Silver Hadrianic Coin
Chris Baldock chose a silver coin, pictured above, from the reign of the emperor Hadrian as his object. From the museums MODES record he was able to discover that this coin is part of a larger hoard of silver Roman coins discovered at Ollerton, a small town 12 miles from Newark. The image on the front of the coin is of the emperor Hadrian, with the back depicting a woman, possibly the goddess Fortuna. Hadrian’s name and titles are on the edge of the coin. Chris has also been able to find out more about Hadrian himself. Such as the fact that Hadrian was depicted on coins and in statues as wearing a beard in the Greek fashion and was known as the ‘Greekling’ by his contemporaries for his fascination with Greek learning and culture. This became most obvious through his patronage of Athens and the rebuilding programme he funded there. From the visit to the British Museum Chris also learnt that Hadrian was gay having seen the busts of his lover Antinous, who having accompanied Hadrian to Egypt drowned in the Nile, causing Hadrian to found a city named after him and to have various statues made depicting Antinous, some of which were kept at his villa at Tivoli, north of Rome. Chris also learned that following his succession of Trajan in AD 117, Hadrian travelled the empire visiting Britain in AD 122 and during this visit ordered the building of the wall that is named after him between the Tyne and the Solway Firth. Trajan had expanded the empire to it’s furthest limits and Hadrian realised that the area under Roman control was too large to govern so set about imposing boundaries between the empire and barbarians on the other side. As well as Britain Hadrian established frontiers in Germany and North Africa. Hadrian died in Italy in AD 138.
