Æ33 - Hadrian L Β

This piece dates to Hadrian's first regnal year in Egypt — a moment of genuine administrative uncertainty. Trajan died in August 117 before formally adopting Hadrian, and the succession was managed by Plotina under disputed circumstances. Egyptian bronze coinage for Year 2 (L Β) was struck while that political ambiguity was still resolving itself in Rome. The Alexandrian mint operated on its own regnal calendar anchored to the Egyptian new year, which is why Year 2 issues appear so early in what the Roman calendar would still consider Hadrian's first year of rule.