Æ29 - Antoninus Pius L Ε

Year five of Antoninus Pius's reign — marked here by the regnal date L Ε — fell during a period of unusual administrative stability in Roman Egypt. The Alexandrian mint tied its bronze issues to the Egyptian regnal year rather than the Roman consular calendar, a dating practice that makes precise attribution straightforward but also exposes just how prolific the mint was in certain years. Fourth-century hoards from the Fayum region have turned up L Ε bronzes in quantity, suggesting active circulation well beyond Alexandria itself.