AR23 - Philip I L - Ε

Philip I's fifth regnal year (ΛΕ) corresponds to a politically charged moment: he was simultaneously managing the Roman frontier, suppressing the revolt of his finance minister Sponsianus, and preparing for the Secular Games of 248 AD — the thousandth anniversary of Rome's founding. Alexandrian billon tetradrachms of this year were struck in enormous volume to supply the eastern economy, yet survival rates for Philip's Alexandria issues are uneven across regnal years, with year five pieces appearing with reasonable frequency in collections formed from Egyptian hoards.