SEVERUS ALEXANDER
AD 222-235
Potin Tetradrachm. 15.09g, 24.2mm
MINTED: EGYPT, Alexandria, RY 1 (AD 222)
REF: RPC Online Temp #10228 (24 spec); Emmett 3096.1; Dattari (Savio) 4290
OBVERSE: Α ΚΑΙ ΜΑΡ ΑΥΡ СƐΥΗΡ ΑΛƐΞΑΝΔΡΟС ƐΥСƐΒ, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right.
REVERSE: Dikaiosyne standing facing, head left, holding cornucopia and scales; L A (date) to left.
 
Provenance:
Ex Hermanubis Collection
"The Hermanubis Collection was assembled with a focus on both quality and rarity. It is expected that this collection will help create a new generation of collectors for the specialized, but popular area of Alexandrian/Roman Egyptian coinage."
 
Grade/Notes:
Almost Very Fine. Dark, black patina. Youthful bust from his first regnal year. A heavy, pleasingly chunky coin.
Dikaiosyne was the Greek equivalent of the Roman Aequitas, the personification of fairness and good conduct.
 
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.