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 Ζ
| Issuer | Alexandria (Egypt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 143-144 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Billon |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| 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 | An eagle stands facing on a line, wings spread wide and head turned to the left, rendered in the characteristic style of Alexandrian coinage. The regnal date legend L Ζ (Year 7, corresponding to 143–144 AD) appears in the upper field to the right of the eagle's head. The broad, symmetrical presentation of the eagle with outstretched wings is a hallmark of Alexandrian imperial tetradrachms under the Antonine dynasty. |
| 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 (143-144) |
| Additional information |
Year 7 of Antoninus Pius's reign falls squarely within the long administrative stability Egypt enjoyed under him — 23 years as emperor, the longest peaceful reign of the high imperial period, with not a single visit to the province he ruled it entirely through prefects. Alexandrian billon tetradrachms of this era were produced in enormous volume to satisfy Egypt's closed currency system, which barred the circulation of imperial silver and forced all commerce through locally struck coin.
The Dattari reference places this among the better-documented types in the series, catalogued from the collection Giorgio Dattari assembled in Alexandria around the turn of the twentieth century — still the foundational corpus for the type.