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Æ35 - Augustus ΚΑΙϹΑΡ
| Issuer | Alexandria (Egypt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 19 BC - 4 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 34.30 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central field occupied by the Greek inscription ΚΑΙϹΑΡ (Caesar) enclosed within a laurel wreath, the wreath rendered with tied branches at the base. This wreath-and-legend reverse type is characteristic of the large bronze coinage struck for circulation in Roman Egypt under Augustus. The overall design is austere and epigraphic in character, consistent with Alexandrian civic issues of the period. Considerable surface encrustation obscures the finer details of the wreath's individual leaves. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΚΑΙϹΑΡ (Translation: Caesar) |
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| Additional information |
Struck at the Alexandria mint under Roman administration following Octavian's annexation of Egypt in 30 BC, these large bronzes filled a practical gap — Ptolemaic civic coinage had collapsed with the kingdom itself, and the new regime needed a circulating currency that Alexandrians would accept. The mint retained its Greek-language legends and many Ptolemaic weight conventions deliberately, easing the transition for a population that had used drachm-based systems for three centuries.
Egypt operated as an imperial province under direct control of a prefect appointed by Augustus, bypassing the Senate entirely — a monetary arrangement as politically significant as any edict.