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AR24 - Hadrian L Ε
| Issuer | Alexandria (Egypt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 120-121 |
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| Composition | Billon |
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| Reverse description | Draped bust of Nilus facing right, the personification of the Nile River, crowned with a taenia and lotus-buds, with a cornucopia resting at the shoulder. The figure is rendered in the distinctive Alexandrian style characteristic of Hadrianic-era provincial coinage. The regnal date formula L Ε (year 5) appears in the field, denoting the fifth regnal year of Hadrian's reign as reckoned by the Alexandrian calendar, corresponding to 120–121 AD. The reverse composition reflects the importance of the Nile deity in the religious and economic iconography of Roman Egypt. |
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| Reverse lettering | L Ε |
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| Additional information |
Year five of Hadrian's reign in Egypt coincided with his sweeping administrative reforms of the province — he restructured the nome system and reimposed fiscal controls that had grown slack under Trajan's extended military campaigning. Alexandrian billon tetradrachms of this regnal year circulated within Egypt's closed monetary system, which prohibited the import or export of foreign coinage, effectively trapping these issues inside the province and giving them a circulation life quite distinct from Roman imperial silver struck at Rome.
The billon content by this period had already degraded significantly from Neronian standards, sitting closer to 20% silver in most assays of the type.