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Tetradrachm - Probus Elpis, Alexandria
| Issuer | Alexandria Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 276-277 |
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| Value | Tetradrachm (4) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Laureate and cuirassed bust of Emperor Probus facing right, rendered in the provincial Egyptian style with bold, somewhat stylized features characteristic of Alexandrian coinage. The emperor is depicted with a radiate wreath of laurel and military cuirass, conveying imperial authority. A circular Greek legend surrounds the portrait within a beaded border. The effigy displays the robust, expressive portraiture typical of late third-century Roman provincial issues from Alexandria. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | A K M AYP ΠPOBOC CEB (Translation: Αυτοκράτωρ Καίσαρ Μάρκου Αυρήλιου Πρόβος Σεβαστός) `Emperor Caesar Marcus Aurelius Probus, Venerable`.) |
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| Additional information |
Probus inherited an empire still fractured by the crisis of the third century, and his Egyptian tetradrachms were struck at Alexandria under the Roman prefectural administration that had controlled the mint since Augustus absorbed Egypt as an imperial province in 30 BC. The Alexandrian mint operated on a distinct billon standard entirely separate from the Roman antoninianus system — these pieces circulated only within Egypt, never across provincial borders.
Elpis, the personification of hope, appears on issues tied to specific regnal years, making Milne's sequential numbering essential for dating within Probus's reign. Year 2 of Probus corresponds to 276–277 AD.