AR23 - Severus Alexander L Ε

Alexandrian billon tetradrachms of Severus Alexander are dateable by the regnal year inscribed on the reverse — the L Ε marking this as year five of his reign, corresponding to 225–226 AD. The Alexandria mint operated under Roman imperial control but maintained its own dating system, a legacy of the Ptolemaic monetary tradition that Rome never fully suppressed. Severus Alexander came to power at fourteen following the assassination of Elagabalus, with his mother Julia Mamaea effectively directing policy through much of his reign.

Emmett 3097.5 places this among the more frequently catalogued types of his Alexandrian issues, though billon quality varied considerably across the reign as silver content continued its long decline.