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Æ28 - Vespasian ΖΕΥΣ ΣΑΡΑΠΙΣ, L ΕΝΑΤ
| Issuer | Alexandria (Egypt) |
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| Year | 76-77 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 11.98 g |
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| Obverse description | Laureate bust of Vespasian facing right, draped, with the imperial effigy rendered in the Alexandrian provincial style. The Greek legend runs around the periphery of the flan, partially visible on this worn specimen. The portrait displays the characteristic features of Vespasian's official iconography as adapted by the Alexandrian mint for local circulation coinage. |
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| Obverse lettering | ΑΥΤΟΚ ΚΑΙΣ ΣΕΒΑ ΟΥΕΣΠΑΣΙΑΝΟΥ (Translation: of Emperor Caesar Augustus Vespasian) |
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| Additional information |
Alexandria's civic bronze coinage under Vespasian operated on the Egyptian regnal calendar rather than the Roman consular year, making precise dating unusually straightforward for a provincial issue. Year 9 of Vespasian's reign — recorded here as L ΕΝΑΤ — runs from summer 76 to summer 77 AD. The pairing of Zeus with the Alexandrian Sarapis reflects the Flavian dynasty's calculated interest in Egyptian religious authority: Vespasian had been acclaimed emperor at Alexandria in 69 AD and was said by Tacitus and Suetonius to have performed healing miracles at the Serapeum there, lending the cult a particular dynastic resonance during his reign.