Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Æ32 - Marcus Aurelius L Ι(?)
| Issuer | Alexandria (Egypt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 171-172 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | 32 mm |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Façade of a tetrastyle temple set upon a stepped podium, rendered in frontal view. The pediment encloses a facing bust of Sarapis wearing the modius crown. Between the two central columns, a draped window is depicted above a doorway flanked by two standing cult statues, tentatively identified as Isis and Harpocrates. The outer intercolumniations each contain smaller subsidiary doorways, giving the composition a richly architectural character consistent with Alexandrian temple iconography. The regnal year inscription appears in the field. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (171-172) |
| Additional information |
Year 12 of Marcus Aurelius's reign — the dating system used by Alexandria's mint counted from imperial accession rather than the Roman calendar — falls squarely in the opening phase of the Marcomannic Wars, when sustained pressure on the Danubian frontier was draining imperial resources and attention northward. Alexandrian bronze of this period circulated exclusively within Egypt, functioning under a closed currency system that barred standard Roman coinage from the province.
The "L Ι" regnal year notation, if that reading holds, places this piece in year 12. The question mark in the catalog designation reflects genuine uncertainty — the year numerals on Alexandrian bronzes of this module are among the most frequently worn or weakly struck elements on the type.