HADRIAN
AD 117-138
AE Drachm. 22.24g, 34.5mm
MINTED: EGYPT, Alexandria, RY 17 (AD 132/3)
REF: Emmett 1042; Dattari 1945; RPC Online 5844
OBVERSE: Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right.
REVERSE: Serapis, holding scepter and raising hand, standing right, facing Hadrian standing left, resting hand on stele inscribed ADP/IA/NON in three lines; all within distyle temple, pediment decorated with disk; [L I] Z in exergue.
 
Provenance:
Ex Robert L. Grover Collection of Roman-Egyptian Coinage, previously held by the Art Institute of Chicago (1980.993)
A rare museum pedigree, sold with its original catalogue tag indicating the accession number (1980.993) used when was received into the museum's collection.
 
Notes:
Somewhat weathered brown surfaces. A few edge splits. 
 
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.