Italian Mint launches Hadrian, the first issue in a new Roman Emperors series of 3g gold coins

A new series from the Italian Mint (IPZS) is always something to look forward to, especially when it celebrates the people, deeds, art and architecture of one of the worlds’ most impressive empires, that of the Ancient Romans. Choosing to issue the coins in gold is also a pleasant change, especially when at just three grams in weight, they’re relatively affordable.

Called Serie Imperatori Romani (‘Roman Emperors Series’, but the Italian name sounds so much better), the first in this new annual series commemorates a man known as one of the five good emperors, Hadrian. Born Publius Aelius Hadrianus, Hadrian consolidated the empire by strengthening its borders, most famously in Britain with Hadrians Wall. A patron of the arts and a relatively tolerant emperor, he managed to avoid the often psychopathic tendencies that made some other emperors so infamous.

The design features an effigy of Hadrian on the reverse face along with the inscription ‘REPUBLICA ITALIANA’, text present on all modern Italian commemorative coins. The obverse showcases a monument associated with the emperor, in this case the Temple of Venus at Hadrians Villa in Tivoli. The date, denomination and ‘HADRIANUS AUGUSTUS’ are inscribed here, along with a small set of initials MGU which denote the designer, Maria Grazia Urbani.

It’s a nice, traditional coin, if a little busy with inscriptions. However, we feel this is a series that would benefit greatly from CIT’s ground-breaking Big Gold Minting (BGM) technology. Coin Invest Trust are able to produce well detailed 13.92 mm gold coins using just 0.5 g of 0.9999 gold. This new IPZS coin comes in fractionally smaller in diameter, but contains six times as much gold (3 g). A 3 g gold coin struck using BGM can be as large as 26.0 mm across, a surface area increase from 150² mm to over 530² mm. The design on this coin would certainly benefit from being given more room to breathe. Regardless, a great subject, presented in a classic style – what’s not to like? Price should be around €175.00 and the mintage is topped at 4,000 units.