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In many ways, Vibia Sabina (83–138 AD) was your classic Roman Empress. Born the niece of Emperor Trajan, she was destined for a political marriage. Sabina spent her formative years in the household of her maternal grandmother, Marciana, as part of the Rome’s extended First Family. In 100 AD, Sabina married her second cousin Hadrian, a political move most likely masterminded by Trajan’s wife, Empress Plotina. While far from harmonious, Sabina’s marriage to Hadrian endured almost four decades, culminating in a decade long tenure as Rome’s official Augusta.
Sabina was the first Roman Empress featured continuously on coins struck at Rome, comprising all main copper, silver, and gold denominations struck therein. She also appeared coins issued at over thirty provincial mints, reflecting the zenith of the Empire’s reach. It has been noted by modern scholars that Sabina’s depiction on coins (and sculptures) evolved over time, in particular her coiffure, reflecting changing imperial sensibilities. Sabina’s earliest coins portray her with an ornate, braided and diademed-shaped hairstyle similar to the numismatic portrayals of Plotina and Marciana, perhaps part of an advertising campaign to remind the populace of Hadrian’s heritage. On subsequent coinage, Sabina appears with an independent and looser hairstyle, and near the end of her reign her coinage features a more formal, braided style resembling a basket. The latter's celebratory style coincides with Hadrian’s vicennalia, marking 20 years since the Emperor’s ascension.
This silver denarius was struck in Rome around 130 to 133 AD, the midpoint of Sabina’s reign as Augusta. The obverse draped bust of Sabina is topped by a hairstyle known as the queue, held in place by a stephane (a metal headband). Sabina’s primary hairstyle, the queue’s simple elegance suggests an outreach between the Empress and women across the Empire. This nexus somehow survives to this day – even modern viewers appreciate the queue's attractive and appealing style. On the coin’s reverse sits Concordia, the Roman goddess embodying agreement in marriage and society, resting her divine elbow on a statue of Spes, the Roman goddess of Hope, surmounted above a cornucopia.
While the imagery on the verso is charming, it is also ironic - a veritable trademark of ancient imperial Roman coinage. Hadrian was notorious for his extra-marital affairs with women and men alike. Particularly public was Hadrian’s love for Antinous, an attractive Greek youth widely described as Hadrian’s “favorite”. Antinous died under mysterious circumstances around the time this coin was struck, and the grieve-stricken Hadrian created a new religion in his lover's memory. As for Sabina, she had at least one purported affair, with Hadrian’s secretary and scholar Suetonius, who was dismissed from the imperial staff in 119 AD. Moreover, despite presumed expectations, Sabina never bore Hadrian any children. One ancient source even alleges that Sabina performed an abortion upon herself rather than see Hadrian’s sire sit on Rome’s throne.
Regardless of his own personal feelings, Hadrian paid his final respects to Sabina upon her death in 138 AD. The Emperor duly issued posthumous coinage with his Empress' hair styled in a veiled chignon, concluding an unprecedentedly extensive numismatic representation on imperial and provincial Roman coinage. This greater visual prominence for an Augusta set a new standard for subsequent imperial administrations.
Additional Reading: E. D'Ambra, Is Beauty Divine? A Reassessment of the Portraiture of Sabina, Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, Vol. 65 (2020), pp. 132-171.
Coin Details: ROMAN EMPIRE, Sabina, AR Denarius (17 mm, 3.22 g, 6h), Rome mint, Struck circa 130-133 AD, NGC Grade: AU, Strike: 4/5, Surface: 4/5, Obverse: Draped bust right with queue and stephane, SABINA AVGVSTA HADRIANI AVG PP, Reverse: Concordia seated left on throne, holding patera and resting arm on statuette of Spes, cornucopia below, CONCORDIA AVG, References: RIC 398 (new RIC II.3 2501); RSC 12; BMC 895.