AR24 - Hadrian L ΔΕΚΑΤΟΥ

The regnal year ΔΕΚΑΤΟΥ — the tenth — places this issue in 125/126 AD, squarely within Hadrian's extended tour of the eastern provinces. He visited Egypt in late 130 AD, but Roman Alexandria was producing coinage in his name well before he arrived, the mint operating on its own administrative rhythm under the prefect of Egypt rather than under direct imperial oversight. Alexandrian tetradrachms circulated almost exclusively within Egypt itself; Roman monetary law treated the province as a closed currency zone, meaning coins struck here were effectively non-exportable by design.