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| Issuer | Alexandria (Egypt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 86-87 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 24 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | Draped bust of Sarapis facing right, wearing the distinctive modius (kalathos) crown atop his elaborately rendered hair and beard, characteristic of the syncretic Graeco-Egyptian deity. The bust is rendered with fine detail in the Alexandrian style, with the god's serene expression and curling beard clearly visible. The regnal year legend ΕΤΟΥΣ ΕΚΤΟΥ is distributed in the field to either side of the bust. |
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| Additional information |
Year six of Domitian's reign coincided with his increasingly authoritarian consolidation of power in Rome, but Alexandria's mint was responding to local administrative rhythms — Egyptian regnal dating ran on a Nile flood calendar entirely independent of the Roman fiscal year. The ΕΤΟΥΣ ΕΚΤΟΥ formula, meaning simply "year six," reflects that provincial bookkeeping rather than any special imperial occasion.
Alexandrian bronze of this period circulated almost exclusively within Egypt's closed monetary system, where Roman silver was exchanged at the city's entry points and local tetradrachms and bronzes handled everyday commerce.