Æ33 - Philip I L Ϛ

Philip I's sixth regnal year in Egypt — the year this coin was struck — coincided with the millennial celebrations of Rome's founding in 248 AD, an event Philip exploited aggressively through coinage across the empire. Alexandria's own mint participated in this propagandistic output while simultaneously managing the logistical strain of Egypt's grain economy, which remained Rome's most critical provincial revenue source. The Alexandrian bronze series of this reign is notably inconsistent in flan quality, a known production issue rather than a post-mint problem.