ANTONINUS PIUS
AD 138-161
Billon Tetradrachm. 12.75g, 25mm
MINTED: EGYPT, Alexandria, RY 10 (AD 146/7)
REF: Dattari-Savio 8159; Emmett 1383.10; RPC Online 13585 (19 spec.)
OBVERSE: ΑΝΤωΝΙΝΟС СƐΒ ƐVСƐΒ, laureate bust right.
REVERSE: L DEKATOV, Elpis standing left, lifting hem of skirt and holding flower.
 
Provenance:
Ex Robert L. Grover Collection of Roman-Egyptian Coinage, previously held by the Art Institute of Chicago (1981.432)
An excellent coin with a rare museum pedigree, sold with its original catalogue tag indicating the accession number (1981.432) used when was received into the museum's collection.
 
Grade/Notes:
Very Fine. Bold portrait of Antoninus.
Elpis was the Greek equivalent of the Spes, the Roman Goddess of Hope.
 
Historical Notes:
Egypt supplied as much as half of Rome’s annual grain supply, and was as such a hugely important province. Its economic and cultural heart was Alexandria, the second largest city in the Empire with a population of more than half a million during the time of Augustus. The coins of Roman Egypt were heavily used in daily commerce, and most often found in extremely worn condition. They are nevertheless highly collectible and interesting, sometimes featuring unique Egyptian-themed reverses and deities.