Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
AR23 - Antoninus Pius L ΙΘ
| Issuer | Alexandria (Egypt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 155-156 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round (irregular) |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Dikaiosyne, personification of Justice, seated left on a high-backed throne, holding a pair of scales in her extended right hand and a cornucopia in her left arm. The figure is rendered in the Hellenistic tradition common to Alexandrian provincial coinage. The regnal date legend L ΙΘ (Year 19, corresponding to 155–156 AD) appears in the field. The composition is characteristic of the allegorical reverse types employed under Antoninus Pius at the Alexandria mint. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (155-156) |
| Additional information |
Year 19 of Antoninus Pius's reign, corresponding to 155–156 AD, falls squarely in the middle of Alexandria's most prolific billon tetradrachm output. The Alexandrian mint operated under Roman supervision but retained its own dating system tied to the emperor's regnal years — a practice unique among Roman provincial mints that continued until Diocletian's monetary reforms effectively ended the autonomous Egyptian coinage in 296 AD.
Billon quality across Alexandrian tetradrachms degraded steadily through the second century, though Antonine-era pieces generally hold better silver content than those of his successors. The L ΙΘ date formula — L being the Egyptian symbol for "year" — is the primary attributive marker distinguishing this regnal year from adjacent issues.