Catalog
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| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint of Alexandria |
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| Year | 141-142 |
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| Diameter | 33 mm |
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| Obverse description | Laureate, cuirassed and paludamentum-draped bust of Antoninus Pius facing right, viewed from the centre or rear, presenting the emperor in full military attire. The obverse legend encircles the bust in Greek script, identifying the emperor by his full imperial titulature. The portraiture reflects the dignified, bearded likeness characteristic of Antonine-era Alexandrian coinage. The flan is broad and slightly irregular, typical of provincial bronze issues struck under Roman administration in Egypt. |
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| Reverse description | A tetrastyle or distyle temple facade with two columns frames a standing figure of Hermanubis, the syncretic Graeco-Egyptian deity combining Hermes and Anubis, depicted holding a caduceus in one hand and a palm branch in the other. At his feet is a jackal, the sacred animal of Anubis, and a small figure of Elpis (Hope) is also present in the field. The architectural framing emphasizes the religious and civic iconography prominent in Alexandrian provincial coinage. The regnal date appears in the field as the only reverse legend, rendered in Greek numeral notation. |
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| Additional information |
Regnal year 5 of Antoninus Pius — rendered as L Ε in the Alexandrian dating system — places this bronze squarely in 141/142 AD, early in a reign defined by its studied avoidance of military adventure. The Alexandria mint operated under Roman prefectural authority but maintained its own dating conventions and iconographic vocabulary largely inherited from Ptolemaic practice, a bureaucratic continuity Rome found convenient to preserve.