P. Aelius Hadrianus was barn at Italica in Spain in A.D. 76. Having lest his father at the age of ten, he was placed under the care of guardians, one of who was the future Emperor Trajan. He soon embarked on a military career and saw active service in various parts of the Roman Empire. In A.D. 100, Hadrian married Trajan's grandniece, Sabina, which indicates that Trajan was grooming him as an heir. Although the marriage was not a happy one, Hadrian also enjoyed the support of Trajan's wife, Platina, who was instrumental in his eventual ascension to the throne. Hadrian was appointed Governor of Syria during Trajan's Parthian war, and was adopted by the Emperor shortly before the latter's death. Much of Hadrian's reign was spent in visiting the Provinces of his vast empire, where he greatly improved the defenses of the frontiers. ln Rome, he co-designed and built the spectacular temple of the Pantheon, with its huge dame; outside the city, at Tibur, he constructed a luxurious villa; in Athens, he finished the monumental temple of Olympian Zeus and erected a library. Hadrian's most famous affair of the heart was with the Bythinian youth Antinous, who was deified by the Emperor following his untimely death in A.D. 130. The melancholy beauty of the cult images continues to haunt the imagination. There is little doubt that Hadrian was one of the most capable Emperors who ever occupied the throne; he devoted his whole life to the improvement of the State. His rule was, for the most part, firm and humane, and he was an important patron of the arts. He died at Baiae on July 10th, A.D. 138, after a long illness, and was succeeded by his hand-chosen heir, Antoninus Pius.

There is an energy, an excitement, that radiates from an ancient coin as from no other object. As we hold such a token in our hands today, our fingers rest exactly where those of others did centuries ago. Our imagination takes flight as we envision those who might have held this coin when the classical world was at its height. Were they aristocrat or commoner? Soldier, merchant, sailor, artist or actor? What did this coin purchase? Rare goods from the exotic corners of the world or the simple necessities of everyday life? That is the beauty of such an artifact: it invites us to endlessly explore the pathways of the past.