Æ34 - Antoninus Pius L Ε

Year five of Antoninus Pius's reign — the regnal year marked by the L Ε on this issue — coincided with the suppression of a serious revolt in Egypt that required the dispatch of additional legionary forces. Alexandria's mint operated under the prefect's authority throughout this period, producing large bronze denominations that functioned as token currency within Egypt's closed monetary system, which prohibited the import or export of coin. What circulated in the Nile Delta stayed there, which is precisely why Alexandrian bronzes surface overwhelmingly in Egyptian hoards rather than anywhere else in the empire.