Æ34 - Hadrian L ΚΑ

Year 21 of Hadrian's reign corresponds to 136–137 AD, placing this issue in the final stretch of his rule before his death in 138. Alexandria's civic mint operated under close imperial supervision, and the regnal year dating system — expressed in Greek numerals on the coin itself — was unique to Egyptian coinage, a administrative holdover from Ptolemaic practice that Rome found convenient to retain. Hadrian visited Egypt personally in 130–131, and the mint's output surged noticeably in the years immediately following, reflecting both renewed imperial attention and the propaganda needs of a province still unsettled after the Jewish revolt under Lukuas just two decades prior.