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Æ34 - Trajan L Κ
| Issuer | Alexandria (Egypt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 116-117 |
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| Composition | Bronze |
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| Reverse description | The river god Nilus personified as a mature, semi-draped male figure reclining to the left upon the back of a hippopotamus, whose forequarters are visible beneath him. Nilus extends his right arm holding a reed stalk and cradles a large cornucopia in his left arm, symbolising the river's annual inundation and agricultural abundance. The composition fills the field in the Alexandrian tradition, with the regnal year date L Κ (year 20) inscribed in the lower field below the figure. The overall rendering is typical of Trajanic Alexandrian civic bronzes celebrating Egypt's prosperity. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Year 20 of Trajan's reign, which this coin marks with the regnal date L Κ, fell during his Parthian campaign — the farthest east any Roman emperor would ever push the empire's borders. Trajan took Ctesiphon and briefly reached the Persian Gulf, reportedly lamenting that he was too old to follow in Alexander's footsteps. He died at Selinus in Cilicia the following year before returning to Rome.
Alexandria's bronze coinage under Trajan is heavily dated, and the L Κ issues represent some of the last struck in his name before the Hadrianic retooling of the mint.