Catalog
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| Issuer | Alexandria (Egypt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 221-222 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 24 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | Sarapis standing facing with head turned to the right, wearing the modius (kalathos) on his head, clad in a long chiton and himation. The deity holds a long sceptre in his left hand, with the right arm slightly extended. The regnal date legend L Ε (Year 5) is divided on either side of the figure in the field, left and right respectively. |
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| Additional information |
This tetradrachm dates to regnal year 5 of Elagabalus — the final year before his murder by the Praetorian Guard in March 222 AD, orchestrated in part by his own grandmother Julia Maesa, who had already pivoted her political support to his cousin Severus Alexander. The Alexandrian mint continued its distinctive billon coinage throughout the reign with little interruption, indifferent to the chaos in Rome.
The "L Ε" date formula is characteristic of the Alexandrian regnal dating system, where L functions as an abbreviation for the Greek ἔτους.