Coins and Historical Medals

Roman Imperial Coinage, Hadrian, Sestertius, c. 120-2, laureate bust right, slight drapery on far shoulder, rev. reliqva vetera hs novies mill abolita, lictor standing left, holding fasces and lighting pile of records with torch, S C in field, 24.24g (RIC 262; Strack 555; BMC 1206; C 1210; RCV 3626). Fine or better but flan cracked and porous, rare £150-£180

The reverse of this remarkable issue commemorates an event initiated by Hadrian to promote his popularity: cancelling debts and burning promissory notes in a general amnesty for tax arrears. The scene takes place in Trajan’s Forum and depicts either Hadrian himself, or a lictor, applying a torch to a heap of documents, symbolising the debts being cancelled