AR21 - Aurelian ΕΤΟΥϹ Ε

Year 5 of Aurelian's reign coincides almost exactly with the aftermath of his reconquest of the Palmyrene Empire in 272, when Alexandria was brought back under direct Roman control following Zenobia's bid for independence. The Alexandrian mint resumed imperial coinage almost immediately after the city's reintegration, making these Year 5 tetradrachms among the earliest issues struck there under normalized Roman authority.

Aurelian's broader monetary reforms — his attempt to stabilize the debased coinage empire-wide — were still taking shape at this point, and the Alexandrian billon tetradrachm continued on its own long-established metrological trajectory, largely insulated from western reform pressures until the mint's eventual closure under Diocletian.