AR24 - Antoninus Pius L ΚΑ

Year 21 of Antoninus Pius's reign fell squarely within the longest peaceful principate of the second century — no major wars, no succession crises, no currency collapses. Alexandrian billon tetradrachms of this period circulated heavily in Egypt, where Roman monetary policy maintained a closed currency system: coins brought into the province were exchanged for local issue, and local coins could not leave. That captive circulation explains the heavy wear found on most survivors.

The Dattari reference traces to Giovanni Dattari's personal collection, catalogued in 1901, which remains the foundational corpus for Alexandrian imperial coinage despite being over a century old.