I think this coin is without the usual beard, what do you think, maybe the beard was very small and isn't visible anymore.
2e coin Bibliothèque nationale de
FranceEGYPT,
Alexandria.
Hadrian Drachm 117-18 AD
Hadrian in
quadrigaReference.
Emmett 960.2;
RPC 3, 5018 Köln 757;
Dattari (
Savio) 1585
var. (
obv. legend); K&G 32.50
Obv. ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙС ΤΡΙΑΝΟС (
sic) ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟС
Laureate
bust right No Beard,
slight drapery Rev. L B (date ry 2)
Emperor (
Hadrian) standing in
quadriga, right, laureate-headed, wearing
toga, holding eagle-tipped
sceptre and branch.
21.80 gr
34 mm
12 h
Note
CNG.
Hadrian’s
portraits on
his early coins in
Alexandria more closely resemble
Trajan, as the engravers in the provinces waited for an official Imperial model or
bust to be sent out. In this case, by
Hadrian’s regnal year 2, the engravers might have
had access to or knowledge of what
Hadrian looked like, as the
portrait on the present coin is beginning to morph into a more accurate representation of
Hadrian’s Imperial image.
