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Tetradrachm - Diocletianus Alexandria
| Issuer | Alexandria Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 285-289 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Eagle standing right, head turned back to the left, holding a wreath in its beak and a palm frond resting on its wing, rendered in a style characteristic of Alexandrian potin tetradrachms. A star appears in the upper right field. The regnal year legend is divided across the field, indicating the year of issue within Diocletian's reign. |
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| Mintage | ND (285-286) L / B - Alexandria - ND (288-289) L / Є - Alexandria - |
| Additional information |
By the time Diocletian's Alexandrian tetradrachms were being struck in this period, the coin had shed nearly all its silver content — potin issues like this one were the end result of two centuries of progressive debasement that had reduced what was once a prestige silver denomination to little more than a bronze coin with a trace wash. Alexandria continued issuing tetradrachms as a closed currency system, meaning Roman denarii and other imperial coinage were officially excluded from Egyptian circulation, a monetary isolation policy the Romans maintained from Augustus onward. Diocletian abolished the system entirely around 296 AD, integrating Egypt into the imperial coinage network for the first time.