★ Hadrian's bear hunt ★

MYSIA. Hadrianotherae. Hadrian, 117-138. Hemiassarion (Orichalcum, 16 mm, 3.34 g, 12 h). AΔPIANOC AYΓOYCTOC Bare head of Hadrian to right. Rev. ΑΔΡΙΑΝ[ΟΘΗΡ]ΙΤΩΝ Head of a bear to left. Plankenhorn, Mysien, p. 62, 3 ( this coin ). RPC III 1629. SNG Paris 1091. Von Fritze 565-7. Rare. Some flatness and with light scratches, otherwise, very fine.

From the collection of G. Plankenhorn, formed since the 1960s.

Hadrian was a great lover of the hunt, to the extent that he founded the city of Hadrianotherai (the name literally means: 'Hadrian's hunts') on the spot of a successful bear hunt in Mysia. The head of the dreaded wild animal is shown on local medallions of Antinoüs, who must have accompanied the emperor on the hunting expedition, and on this lovely small issue of the Philhellenic emperor himself.