AR23 - Marcus Aurelius L Β

This tetradrachm dates to the very first year of Marcus Aurelius's sole reign — or more precisely, the second regnal year by Alexandrian reckoning, which began its count from the co-accession with Lucius Verus in 161 AD. The two emperors nominally ruled together, though Marcus held clear philosophical and administrative authority from the outset. Alexandria's imperial coinage was a closed currency system; tetradrachms like this could not legally circulate outside Egypt, functioning instead as a provincial fiduciary issue exchanged at the city's banks upon entry.