AR23 - Gordian III L Ε

Year five of Gordian III's reign in Alexandria corresponds to a period when the emperor was preparing — or already conducting — campaigns against Shapur I on the eastern frontier. The Alexandrian mint continued producing billon tetradrachms with mechanical regularity throughout these years, the coinage serving the peculiarly closed monetary economy of Roman Egypt, where provincial issues did not circulate beyond the nome boundaries and Roman silver was officially excluded.

The L Ε regnal date formula is characteristic of the Egyptian dating convention tied to the local calendar year beginning in late August.