Year 10 of Hadrian's reign corresponds to his celebrated tour of Egypt in 130 AD — but this piece predates that visit by several years, struck during a period when Alexandrian civic bronze was being produced in remarkable volume to service the monetized Egyptian economy. The Alexandrian mint ran a distinct regnal year dating system, with "L ΔΕ" marking regnal year 10, a convention inherited from Ptolemaic practice and maintained stubbornly through the Roman imperial period.
Alexandria remained the only mint in Egypt authorized to strike bronze for local circulation.
Year 10 of Hadrian's reign corresponds to his celebrated tour of Egypt in 130 AD — but this piece predates that visit by several years, struck during a period when Alexandrian civic bronze was being produced in remarkable volume to service the monetized Egyptian economy. The Alexandrian mint ran a distinct regnal year dating system, with "L ΔΕ" marking regnal year 10, a convention inherited from Ptolemaic practice and maintained stubbornly through the Roman imperial period.
Alexandria remained the only mint in Egypt authorized to strike bronze for local circulation.