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AR23 - Philip I L - Γ
| Issuer | Alexandria (Egypt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 245-246 |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust of Philip II as Caesar facing right, portrayed in three-quarter view from the front. The youthful effigy shows the emperor wearing a paludamentum over cuirass, with the drapery fastened at the right shoulder. A circular Greek legend surrounds the central device, reading Μ ΙΟΥ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟϹ Κ ϹΕΒ, identifying the subject as Marcus Julius Philippus Caesar and Augustus. The flan is irregular and the surfaces show heavy encrustation consistent with prolonged burial. |
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| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Philip I came to power in 244 AD after the death of Gordian III in Mesopotamia — circumstances suspicious enough that Philip himself was widely accused of engineering the young emperor's end. The Alexandrian mint, operating under the prefect of Egypt, dated its coinage by regnal year rather than the Roman consular system, making pieces like this one precise chronological anchors within a reign. Year Γ (3) places production squarely in 245–246, the period when Philip was consolidating his hold on the east while managing renewed pressure from the Carpians along the Danube.
Alexandrian billon coinage of this period suffered progressive debasement throughout the third century, and the silver content by Philip's reign was a fraction of earlier issues.