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Æ26 - Claudius ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑ

Issuer Alexandria (Egypt)
Year 50-51
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Weight 9.21 g
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Reverse description Central device comprising a winged caduceus — the staff of Mercury entwined by two serpents with wings at the top — flanked symmetrically by four ears of grain (two to each side), all rising from a common base. The composition is compact and centrally placed on the flan, with the Greek legend ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑ partially visible in the lower field. The ears of grain are a recurring symbol of Alexandria's agricultural fertility and its role as the grain supplier of the Roman Empire.
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Reverse lettering ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑ
(Translation: emperor)
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Additional information

This issue belongs to Year 11 of Claudius's reign, the dating confirmed by the LIA regnal year marker standard to Alexandrian bronzes of the period. Alexandria operated as the sole authorized mint for Egyptian coinage under Roman administration — a deliberate continuation of Ptolemaic monetary isolation that kept Egyptian currency inconvertible with the rest of the empire. Coins struck here could not legally circulate outside Egypt, and Roman denarii could not legally circulate within it.

The arrangement served Rome's grain extraction interests as much as any administrative logic.

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