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AR23 - Antoninus Pius L ΙΖ
| Issuer | Alexandria (Egypt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 153-154 |
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| Reference(s) | Emmett 1428.17; Dattari 2826; RPC IV |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | Draped bust of Nilus facing right, the personification of the river Nile, crowned with a taenia and adorned with lotus buds upon the head, symbolising the fertile inundation of Egypt. A cornucopia appears before the bust, a standard attribute of abundance associated with Nilus iconography on Alexandrian coinage. The reverse field carries the regnal year date L ΙΖ (Year 17), corresponding to 153–154 AD in the reign of Antoninus Pius. The composition reflects the Alexandrian mint's characteristic integration of Egyptian religious imagery within the framework of Roman imperial coinage. |
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| Additional information |
Year 17 of Antoninus Pius's reign, rendered in Egyptian regnal dating as L ΙΖ, places this tetradrachm squarely within the most administratively stable period of Roman Egypt. Alexandria's billon tetradrachm was the backbone of Egyptian provincial currency, deliberately kept inconvertible from the imperial silver system — a policy that had been in place since Augustus and ensured Roman control over the province's money supply without integrating it into the broader denarius economy.
The billon content by this period had degraded considerably from earlier Julio-Claudian issues, though Antonine-era pieces remain appreciably more silver-rich than those struck under the Severans. Dattari 2826 is among the better-documented die pairings for this regnal year.