Æ33 - Severus Alexander L Ι

Alexandria's civic bronze coinage under Severus Alexander operated on a regnal year system, and year LΙ — the tenth year, corresponding to 230/231 AD — falls squarely in a period when the emperor was increasingly preoccupied with the mounting Sassanid threat on Rome's eastern frontier. Ardashir I had recently consolidated Persian power after defeating the Parthians in 224 and was pressing aggressively into Roman Mesopotamia. The Alexandrian mint continued its prolific output regardless, as Egypt's status as an imperial grain province demanded monetary stability independent of military distraction.