Catalog
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| Issuer | Alexandria (Egypt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 125-126 |
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| Reference(s) | RPC III#5599 |
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| Reverse description | Emperor Hadrian standing upright in a quadriga drawn by four elephants, advancing to the right, attired in toga and wearing a laurel wreath. He holds an eagle-tipped sceptre in one hand and a branch in the other, emblematic of imperial triumph and divine favour. The elephant quadriga, a motif associated with deified rulers and triumphal processions, is rendered in dynamic profile. The regnal year legend appears in the field, dating the issue to the tenth year of Hadrian's reign in the Alexandrian reckoning. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Year 10 of Hadrian's reign in Egypt — rendered as L ΔΕΚΑΤΟΥ on the dating formula — places this issue squarely during his first documented visit to Alexandria in 130 AD... except the math doesn't work that way. Egyptian regnal years ran from Thoth (late August), meaning year 10 ran 125–126 AD, well before his famous Nile tour. Alexandria's mint operated on a closed currency system: Roman coins were exchanged at the border for Alexandrian issues, and only Alexandrian bronze and billon circulated within Egypt, effectively isolating the province's monetary supply from the rest of the empire.