Æ23 - Marcus Aurelius L ΙΘ

Year 19 of Marcus Aurelius's reign fell during the opening phase of the Marcomannic Wars, when the emperor was spending the majority of his time on the Danubian frontier rather than in Rome. Alexandrian provincial bronzes of this period were struck under the authority of the prefect of Egypt, a Roman appointee who managed the province's coinage independently of the imperial mint — making these issues administratively distinct from the rest of the empire's output.

Egypt's closed currency system meant this piece would never have left the province in circulation.