AR24 - Hadrian L ΕΝΔΕΚΑΤΟΥ

Year 11 of Hadrian's reign corresponds to a period when the emperor was almost certainly in or near Egypt — his famous visit to Alexandria occurred in 130 AD, but administrative and ceremonial coinage production ramped up considerably in the years immediately preceding that arrival. The Alexandrian mint operated under a distinctly provincial framework, producing tetradrachms denominated and dated by regnal year rather than Roman consular reckoning, which gives this series an unusually precise chronological anchor rare among provincial issues.

The billon and silver output from this mint degraded noticeably across Hadrian's reign, making earlier, higher-silver issues like this one chemically distinct from later production.