Æ33 - Hadrian L Δ

Year 4 of Hadrian's reign corresponds to the emperor's early consolidation of a very different imperial philosophy from his predecessor Trajan — abandonment of Dacian and Mesopotamian overreach in favor of fixed frontiers. Alexandria's mint was among the most active provincial operations in the empire, running a parallel dating system keyed to Egyptian regnal years rather than Roman consular dates, which is why the "L Δ" notation appears: the Greek letter delta marking the fourth year. Provincial bronze from Alexandria circulated almost exclusively within Egypt, rarely traveling far given the tight grain-economy controls Rome imposed on the province.