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AR23 - Elagabalus L Δ
| Issuer | Alexandria (Egypt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 220-221 |
| 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 |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | Sarapis enthroned facing left, robed and wearing the modius (kalathos) upon his head, holding a long sceptre in his left hand while extending his right hand over Cerberus, the three-headed hound, seated at his feet to the left. The regnal year date appears in the field. The composition reflects the syncretic Graeco-Egyptian religious iconography characteristic of Alexandrian coinage. |
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| Additional information |
Alexandria's billon tetradrachms of this period reflect the Egyptian mint's administrative separation from the imperial Roman system — the province operated its own closed currency, meaning these coins circulated exclusively within Egypt and could not be used elsewhere in the empire. Elagabalus, elevated to the purple at fourteen by the legions of Syria in 218 AD, was by this regnal year already generating scandal in Rome that would culminate in his murder by the Praetorian Guard in 222. The Dattari reference places this piece within a well-documented sequence, Milne's excavation records from Karanis providing the stratigraphic circulation evidence.