105: Rome. Hadrian, 117-138 AD. Gold Aureus (7.33 g), - eBay (item 320247624972 end time May-26-08 12:08:30 PDT) Back to My eBayCatalog:The Pre Long Beach Sale - World Sale eBay Live Auctions:Coins > World Coins > Live Auction Seller eBay:Coins & Paper Money > Coins: Ancient > Roman: Imperial 105: Rome. Hadrian, 117-138 AD. Gold Aureus (7.33 g),Item number: 320247624972 Bidder or seller of this item? Sign in for your status Bidding has ended for this item This item has been added to My eBay for Guests. As a guest, you can: Track up to 10 items on this computer in My eBay Receive an email reminder for this item a few hours before it ends View larger picture Closed at:US $75,000.00 Estimate:US $15,000.00 - US $18,000.00 History:40 bids Lot number:105 (View all lots) Auction Date:May-26-08 10:00:00 PDT Auction Currency:US $ (U.S. dollar) Currency Calculator High Bid:Live Auction Floor Bidder Item location:Beverly Hills, CA 0% APR until Jan 2009 - new eBay MasterCard You can also: Email to a friend Meet the seller Seller:i-lgoldbergcoinsandcollectibles( 2234) Feedback:99.4 % Positive Member:since May-09-01 in United States See detailed feedback Ask seller a question Add to Favorite Sellers View seller's other items Buy safely 1. Check the seller's reputation Score: 2234 | 99.4% Positive See detailed feedback 2. Check how you're protected If paying with a credit card, see your card issuer's terms Description (revised) Prev LotNext Lot Hover thumbnail to view large image below. Click thumbnail to view full image in new window. Rome. Hadrian, 117-138 AD. Gold Aureus (7.33 g), Rome mint, struck 130-138 AD. Draped bust of Hadrian right. Reverse: Cult statue of Jupiter Victor enthroned left, holding scepter and in outstretched hand, Victory, who holds wreath and palm and crowns him to right; IOVI VICTORI. RIC 251; C. 863. Finely centered, sharply struck and lustrous. Splendid high relief portrait. Scarce. NGC graded Uncirculated. One of the puzzling features of Hadrian's reign is his relations with the Jews of Judaea. Hadrian was certainly one of the more intelligent, perhaps even brilliant, of emperors up to that time. While his historical achievements are well known, his personality, however, still remains rather enigmatic. Historians clearly see that Hadrian was an effective and capable statesman, but could also be a contradictory -- one might even say a distasteful person. More tellingly, one recent historian summed him up as a man who was "pleasant to meet" and "uncomfortable to know." Early in Hadrian's reign he inaugurated, at least at first, an atmosphere of tolerance towards Judaea -- this to a people whose revolt of little more than 40 years prior had been harshly put down and their capital razed. He even talked of allowing the Jews to rebuild the Temple, a proposal that was met with hostile opposition from certain "Hellenists" in his circle. That Hadrian's attitude should suddenly change to one of outright hostility toward the Jews is odd to say the least. Perhaps these same "Hellenists," ardent admirers of Greek culture, played an important part in his about-face during the period of Hadrian's travels in the East. Several edicts affecting the Jewish peoples seem to have been issued around 130 or 131 AD. Among them, Hadrian had outlawed castration. He extended this to include circumcision, a practice used by both the Egyptians and Arabs, but of particular religious importance to the Jews. L ater, the Egyptians were extended some exemptions to the law. However, no such favor was given to the Jews. In addition, Israel's holy city of Jerusalem was to be re-founded as a Roman colony with Greek settlers. Furthermore, Hadrian planned on building a temple to Jupiter on the site of the venerated great Temple of the Jews, its second incarnation having stood there since the 5th century BC. Again, these actions seem rather out of character for Hadrian, who before had seemed so well inclined towards the Jews. Hadrian had even extended religious toleration towards the related Christians to a degree greater than any emperor had done before. This lack of regard would result in not only headaches and huge expenses for Hadrian, but with it troubles that are still affecting today's world, nearly two thousand years later. By 132 AD, the Bar Kokhba broke out, the details of which are well known. This revolt must have been an embarrassment for Hadrian. Roman coins for t he most part are decidedly propagandistic. The coins relating to Hadrian's travels throughout the empire being an obvious case in point. Virtually no notice is made of this rebellion in the coins struck by Hadrian. Looking at his "Adventus" and related coins for Judaea, one would certainly have no inkling that rebellion was afoot at the time. Eventually, late in 135 AD, the Jewish forces collapsed. Perhaps the Hadrian of old would have been more forgiving towards the survivors, whose losses had been staggering. But not this time. Settlement and reprisals were harsh and extreme. Teaching of Mosaic Law was banned. Pagan temples and symbols were erected all over the land. Judaea itself was renamed Palestine, and Jerusalem, its capital, was now called Aelia Capitolina. Estimated Value $15,000 - 18,000. Illustrated in Money of the World, coin 44. Our item number 115760 Notices This item is an "eBay Live Auction". This means that each item will not close at a specific time like a regular ebay auction. Because this is a live auction the lot will be opened in a format like a real auction house floor. Bids can be placed real-time during the auction via ebayliveauctions.com and icollector.com. Please note, bidders may place bids before the auction up to 1 hour prior to the start of the auction. This is the recommended method of bidding if you have a slow internet connection or do not have the experience bidding in a "live" sale. Due to the speed of the auction, we highy recommend a DSL or cable connection . Once the auction has started, only live bids are accepted. Please do not call to place bids during the auction as they will not be accepted. The "Auction date and time" displayed by ebay has been known to be wrong. Please check our auction information page for actual start times on ebayliveauctions.com. These start times pertain to when the auction opens, not the individual lot. We typically run approximately 150 items per hour, so you can estimate from that when your item may be displayed. We will not be held responsible for ebay down time or internet problems. If ebay goes down, we will try our best to wait a sufficient amount of time for it to come back up. In the event that we cannot require ebay, all ebay bids during that downtime will not be honoured. There is a 20% commission charge added to each and every lot. Images & text re-used by permission, courtesy of Ira & Larry Goldberg Auctioneers, Beverly Hills, CA