Sabina, Aureus, 128-129
Rome - Extremely rare - Gold - MS(60-62) - RIC:2485
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Sabina (wife of Hadrian), Aureus, 128-129, Rome. Extremely rare. From the Isar Collection.
Bust of Sabina, wearing double stephane with hair braided and piled, draped, left.
Vesta seated left on a throne with a footstool, holding palladium in her right hand and a scepter in her left.
Absolutely sublime specimen, with almost no trace of circulation, and also of the greatest rarity, and by far the most beautiful of the only 5 examples to have been seen in sales over the last 20 years. Extremely well centered, with a slight irregularity in the flan, this is a true museum masterpiece.. Near Mint State. This coin comes from a strike issued shortly after Sabina was proclaimed Augusta, in 128. A title that made Hadrian's wife a leading figure in the imperial family, resulting in numerous issues in her name, far more than any other empress before her. She is celebrated here by a sublime portrait in very high relief, in which she wears a double stephanè to complete a hairstyle of superb elegance. A portrait which, as far as we know, was very close to the reality. It was the poet Julia Balbilla, a Roman aristocrat from the royal family of Commagene, who described her as being very close to the imperial couple, even accompanying them to Egypt in 130. She was of great beauty, and like all empresses, a model for the women of the Roman aristocracy. Added to this is, an absolutely splendid representation of Vesta on the reverse, whose emphasis on the details of the seated divinity demonstrates the engraver's skill in sublimating both the portrait of the empress and the representation of one of the principal divinities associated with the female personalities of the imperial family. Despite the importance of the facade shown by coinages such as this aureus, it was well known that the imperial couple's marriage was unhappy. Although Sabine accompanied the emperor on his many travels, they had no children, Hadrian preferring his favorite, Antinous, or other women. Sabina died in late 136 or early 137, of an unknown cause, possibly poisoned. Hadrian is suspected of having ordered the murder, although there is no evidence against him. From the Isar Collection. Same dies as RIC II, Part 3² Hadrian 2485 (British Museum). Calicó 1421; BMCRE 927 (Hadrian, same dies).
SABINA AVGVSTA HADRIANI AVG P P
7.24 gr
Gold
Although nowadays gold enjoys a reputation as the king of precious metals, that was not always the case. For example, in Ancient Greece, Corinthian bronze was widely considered to be superior. However, over the course of time, it has established itself as the prince of money, even though it frequently vies with silver for the top spot as the standard.
Nevertheless, there are other metals which appear to be even more precious than this duo, take for example rhodium and platinum. That is certain. Yet, if the ore is not as available, how can money be produced in sufficient quantities? It is therefore a matter of striking a subtle balance between rarity and availability.
But it gets better: gold is not only virtually unreactive, whatever the storage conditions (and trouser pockets are hardly the most precious of storage cases), but also malleable (coins and engravers appreciate that).
It thus represents the ideal mix for striking coins without delay – and we were not going to let it slip away!
The chemical symbol for gold is Au, which derives from its Latin name aurum. Its origins are probably extraterrestrial, effectively stardust released following a violent collision between two neutron stars. Not merely precious, but equally poetic…
The first gold coins were minted by the kings of Lydia, probably between the 8th and 6th century BC. Whereas nowadays the only gold coins minted are investment coins (bullion coins) or part of limited-edition series aimed at collectors, that was not always the case. And gold circulated extensively from hand to hand and from era to era, from the ancient gold deposits of the River Pactolus to the early years of the 20th century.
As a precious metal, in the same way as silver, gold is used for minting coins with intrinsic value, which is to say the value of which is constituted by the metal from which they are made. Even so, nowadays, the value to the collector frequently far exceeds that of the metal itself...
It should be noted that gold, which is naturally very malleable, is frequently supplemented with small amounts of other metals to render it harder.
The millesimal fineness (or alloy) of a coin indicates the exact proportion (in parts per thousand) of gold included in the composition. We thus speak, for example, of 999‰ gold or 999 parts of gold per 1 part of other metals. This measure is important for investment coins such as bullion. In France, it was expressed in carats until 1995.
