Year 26 of the Actian Era, corresponding to 5 BC, places this tetradrachm in the final stretch of Augustus's twelfth consulate. Antioch's civic mint was producing these heavy silver pieces under Roman supervision, threading local dating conventions — the Actian and consular years both recorded on the coin — into an otherwise Roman imperial framework. That dual-dating system was unique to the Syrian issues and reflects the negotiated administrative reality of a province still attached to its own chronological identity.
Prieur 50 is among the more frequently encountered of the early Augustan Syrian tetradrachms, though quality varies sharply across the series due to inconsistent flan preparation at the Antioch mint.
Year 26 of the Actian Era, corresponding to 5 BC, places this tetradrachm in the final stretch of Augustus's twelfth consulate. Antioch's civic mint was producing these heavy silver pieces under Roman supervision, threading local dating conventions — the Actian and consular years both recorded on the coin — into an otherwise Roman imperial framework. That dual-dating system was unique to the Syrian issues and reflects the negotiated administrative reality of a province still attached to its own chronological identity.
Prieur 50 is among the more frequently encountered of the early Augustan Syrian tetradrachms, though quality varies sharply across the series due to inconsistent flan preparation at the Antioch mint.