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AR22 - Gordian III L - Ε
| Issuer | Alexandria (Egypt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 241-242 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 12.42 g |
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| Reverse description | Roma personified standing left in military attire, holding a spear in her right hand and a parazonium (short sword) in her left hand, with a large round shield resting against her left leg. The regnal year date L-Ε (Year 5, corresponding to 241–242 AD) is divided across the field to left and right of the figure. The composition follows the standard Alexandrian tetradrachm reverse type, with Roma rendered in a sturdy, frontal-facing provincial style characteristic of the Gordian III coinage of the Alexandria mint. |
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| Mint | Alexandria (ancient), Egypt (332 BC - 476 AD) |
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| Additional information |
This tetradrachm belongs to Gordian III's fifth regnal year — the Ε marking that date — issued by the Roman imperial mint at Alexandria, which operated under a deliberately closed currency system. Egypt's coinage was not interchangeable with the broader imperial silver currency; all coins entering the province were reminted, and all coins leaving it were similarly exchanged, funneling seigniorage revenue directly to the imperial treasury. Gordian was nineteen at most when this piece was struck.
The billon content by this point had degraded substantially from earlier Alexandrian tetradrachms, a slide that accelerated through the third century crisis.