AR23 - Severus Alexander L Β

Severus Alexander came to power in 222 AD after the assassination of Elagabalus, orchestrated in part by his own grandmother Julia Mamaea, who effectively governed alongside him for most of his reign. The Alexandrian mint, which operated on a closed-currency system requiring visitors to exchange Roman coinage for local issues, dated its tetradrachms by regnal year — the L Β marking this piece to his second year. The mint was extraordinarily productive under his reign, and Alexandrian issues from this period survive in relatively strong numbers compared to earlier third-century emperors.