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AR22 - Marcus Aurelius L ΙΖ
| Issuer | Alexandria (Egypt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 176-177 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Laureate bust of Marcus Aurelius facing right, with short beard, depicted in the Antonine imperial style typical of Alexandrian coinage. The effigy shows the emperor with characteristic curly hair crowned by a laurel wreath. The Greek legend Μ ΑΥΡΗΛΙΟϹ ΑΝΤωΝΙΝΟϹ ϹΕ runs around the periphery of the coin field. The flan is irregular and the surfaces show heavy patination consistent with billon coinage of the Roman province of Egypt. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Μ ΑΥΡΗΛΙΟϹ ΑΝΤωΝΙΝΟϹ ϹΕ |
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| Additional information |
Year 17 of Marcus Aurelius's reign fell during the immediate aftermath of the Marcomannic Wars, a grinding conflict along the Danubian frontier that had drained the imperial treasury severely enough that Marcus debased the silver content of the Roman coinage. The Alexandrian billon tetradrachm, already a localized fiduciary currency long divorced from its Ptolemaic silver origins, was effectively insulated from that particular pressure — Egypt's mint operated under its own closed monetary system, barring foreign coin and circulating its issues internally.
The L ΙΖ regnal year notation is the Alexandrian mint's standard dating mechanism, anchored to the Egyptian calendar year beginning in late August.