Obverse: Diademed and Draped Bust of the
Empress Facing Right
Reverse: Concordia, Seated to the Left, Holding a
Patera and Resting her Arm on a Small Statue of
Spes
Vibia Sabina’s parents died when she was young
and she was raised by her uncle, the Emperor
Trajan, whose fondness for his nephew Hadrian
brought about his marriage to Sabina in 100 AD
when she was 16. Like the other two women of
the Nervo-Trajanic dynasty, she had no children
of her own and instead raised two adoptees
named Lucius Aelius and Antoninus Pius. She is
said to have aborted at least one child, stating
that any child of Hadrian’s would “harm the
human race”; this was, unfortunately, to be the
general tone of their marriage.
She was said to have been exceptionally strong
minded and somewhat difficult for Hadrian to
control. She also had an affair with one of
Hadrian’s slave boys in the 120’s. This said, she
was dutiful towards her husband and nation. Her
devotion was awarded with the title of Augusta
in 128 AD. The marriage endured to her death –
arguably by poisoning at Hadrian’s hand,
although this is unlikely – in 136/7.
Representations of Sabina follow the general
remit of honorific coins produced to
commemorate the spouses of famous emperors.
Statues show her as being a fairly plain, solidly
matriarchal woman, but with a finely moderated
face that could be said to reflect the unfortunate
circumstances of her time when women were
essentially traded like goods. At this time, Roman
coiffures were at their most flamboyant, and
Sabina seems to have been devoted to her
appearance judging from the complexity of her
hair in the current case. The triple-tiered look
which sometimes appears is known as stephane
– tiaras – descended from the Greek word for
crown (stephanos).
Concordia is the Roman goddess of
understanding, concordance/agreement and –
perhaps ironically – marital accord. Cults to
Concordia were a common character of the
early-mid Roman Empire, as imperial harmony
was a much-desired by the ruling elite of the
time. She is shown holding either a cornucopia
(horn of plenty), a caduceus (emblem of peace)
or a patera (sacrificial bowl). She is often
associated with a status of Spes, the goddess of
hope (or “last chance” goddess), which she uses
as an armrest. All these items refer to the
stability, prosperity and balance that the Roman
emperors liked to believe their reigns brought to
the Empire.
