Roman Imperial Coinage II.3: From AD 117 to AD 138 - Hadrian, second revised edition, by RA Abdy with PF Mittag

Roman Imperial Coinage II.3: From AD 117 to AD 138 - Hadrian, second revised edition, by RA Abdy with PF Mittag

Hardback, jacketed; 276x219mm; 584pp; RRP £160 

Once occupying one third of the original 1926 edition of RIC Volume II, the standard reference work for Roman Imperial coinage of Hadrian (AD 117-138) is now a completely new edition in a greatly expanded single volume. It is a long overdue attempt to reconcile our present understanding of this otherwise poorly documented reign of one of the key figures in Roman history with the coin evidence. The rich symbolism of the reign is also expressed in prodigious issues of Hadrian’s medallic pieces, included in RIC for the first time.  This revised 2024 version of the 2019 edition has enhanced plates and is updated with a number of new types on additional plates that have come to light in the ensuing five years. 

Richard Abdy has been a curator of Roman coins at the British Museum for many years, with particular interest in the middle and later imperial periods of the Roman Empire. He has had long experience of recording Roman coin hoards through work on Treasure cases in England. At university his research led to a corpus of the coinage from the
Antonine Wall, which flagged up the need for a modern reference for the coinage of this period.

Peter Franz Mittag, Professor of Ancient History at the University of Cologne, has already published a corpus of the medallions of Hadrian and presents his updated research in
English for the first time.

The RIC series was started in 1923 by Harold Mattingly, the Roman coin curator at the British Museum, assisted by EA Sydenham. Mattingly and Sydenham were later joined by CHV Sutherland and Percy H Webb, and since then new editors have been added for the series. Sutherland and RAG Carson jointly took over editorship of the work after Mattingly’s death in 1964, and the series is now edited by Andrew Burnett, Michel Amandry, Roger Bland and Chris Howgego.