Six hundred years of an Ancient Denomination

[kevikens]

I thought that today we might want to take a look at a denomination and a mint which was turned out by the Mint of Alexandria for some six hundred years, something noteworthy where other such denominations, as coins, have not lasted nearly as long. Consider that the US Dollar, as important in commerce as it is, is only a little over two hundred years old. The French Franc is a coin of the French Revolution. The Euro is only a few decades old. Yes, the English penny has  been minted in some form for well over a Millenium but the Alexandrine tetradrachm is the winner from the Ancient World, being continuously coined from ca. 300 BC to ca. 300 AD, something the more famous denarius cannot match.

The origins of the Alexandrine tetradrachm go back to the reign of Ptolemy I, kinsman and successor to the Egyptian portion of Alexander the Great's Empire. Almost from the very beginning the tetradrachms were minted at a weight slightly less than the more common weight of the tetradrachm that the Ancients were familiar with, the Attic standard, and for the next 300 years or so they kept it that way. They also kept pretty much the same design and  the same with the reigning monarch on the obverse with a standing eagle on the reverse. Keeping it that way has make it difficult for today's collectors of these. I myself have difficulty identifying these coins a Ptolemy the First up to Ptolemy the Umpteenth. The fabric and fineness of these tetras also remained the same for some time, with a fineness of silver of about 97-98 %, as good as they could refine the metal at that time. As time went on, by the middle of the Second Century BC, their fineness had declined to about 80 to 90% silver, though the weight remained at the usual 14 grams or so. By the mid First Century BC, thanks to trouble with Rome, their fineness plummeted to about 33% and remained that way into the reign of Cleopatra. As a Ptolemaic coin the Alexandrine tetradrachm was finished, but not for long as the conquering Romans resurrected the coin under Tiberius.

The Roman imperial government decided not to replace the Alexandrian tetradrachm, but to adapt it for the benefit of the Empire, mainly by continuing a closed system of coinage, one used exclusively within Egypt, one that would allow greater manipulation of the coins weight and fineness of silver for Rome's benefit. At first, under Tiberius and Claudius (there are no known tetras of Caligula) the new Roman version was similar to the last of the Ptolemaic coins, about 14 grams of a debased 32 % silver. However, under Nero the tetradrachm was debased further to about 16% though again the weight and somewhat dumpy fabric remained the same. For the next two centuries the debasement of the Alexandrian tetra was went hand in hand with that of the denarius, the practice seeming to be to keep the tetradrachm equal in value, at least for accounting purposes, with a rate of one tetradrachm to the denarius.. By the latter part of the Second Century the tetradrachm of Alexandria had pretty much lost its silvery appearance and a good deal of its weight, though, again, retaining much of the dumpy fabric. By the end of the Third Century AD the Alexandia tetradrachm, with its fine ness of silver approaching vanishing level and its weight falling to about 7 grams was finished off. With Diocletian's coinage reforms of about 300 AD the mint of Alexandria would join in and mint coins of the same weight, fineness and fabric of the rest of the Empire.

For us, collecting these coins, is not difficult. Alexandria, especially under Roman control, issued an avalanche of these coins and even the later Ptolemaic tetradrachms are quite reasonable in cost. Yes, their actual minting techniques produced some mighty unattractive coins but as the ones shown here illustrate some were quite well struck and quite appealing to the discriminating eye. The coins I have are displayed, mostly in chronological order, except for the last three, which show that their cellators could be quite skilled, even up to the end of the denomination.

The top three are Ptolemaic minted coins, Ptolemy II, Ptolemy VIII and the IX (maybe), well struck and good silver, each weighing a bit under 14 grams. The next three are early Roman period coins of Nero, Vespasian and Hadrian, all of about 16 % fine silver and about 13 grams. pretty good strikes as well. The last three clearly show coins  declining  in weight and fineness. Thy are of emperors Commodus, Trajan Decius, and Maximianus (or Galerius). The last three are a tetradrachm of Claudius, regnal year LB (42 AD) with Antonia, the emperor's mother on the reverse, a somewhat pricey Alexandria coin, Gallienus, only 4% silver but well struck and attractive and again one of Maximianus, regnal year Z, close to the end of the coinage but still well struck and attractive. I hope you enjoyed this post and I am looking forward to seeing examples of this long run issue

[kevikens]

Oh, I forgot, but for those interested you can find a good deal of reading material if you wish to investigate further. I recommend Harl's Coinage in the Roman Economy, Richard Duncan-Jones, Money and Government in the Roman Economy, and Butcher and Pointing's the Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage. All three are excellent and I use them all the time for just pleasurable reading as well as research.

[expat]

Good idea for a thread. I have only two from Alexandria

Diocletian AD 284-305. Potin Tetradrachm (19.5mm, 7.38 g.)
Egypt, Alexandria mint, dated RY 6 (AD 290/1).
Obv. A K G OYA ΔIOKΛHTIANOC CEB, laureate, cuirassed bust right
Rev. Eirene looking left, holding branch and scepter, SL (date) across field. No reverse legend.
Scarce variety with unusual date order,SL instead of LS

RPC Volume: VI №: 10032 (temporary)
Reign: Elagabalus Persons: Elagabalus (Augustus)
City: Alexandria  Region: Egypt Province: Egypt
Denomination: Tetradrachm Average weight: 12.63 g. Issue: L B = 2 (218/9)
Obverse: Α ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ΜΑ ΑΥΡ ΑΝΤωΝΙΝΟϹ ΕΥϹΕΒ; laureate head of Elagabalus, right
Reverse: L Β; Sarapis bust right, draped and wearing kalathos. 23mm, 11.64g.
Reference: D 4137, Ο 2757, Geissen 2313, E 2952 (2) Specimens: 27

[kevikens]

23 minutes ago, expat said:

Good idea for a thread. I have only two from Alexandria

Diocletian AD 284-305. Potin Tetradrachm (19.5mm, 7.38 g.)
Egypt, Alexandria mint, dated RY 6 (AD 290/1).
Obv. A K G OYA ΔIOKΛHTIANOC CEB, laureate, cuirassed bust right
Rev. Eirene looking left, holding branch and scepter, SL (date) across field. No reverse legend.
Scarce variety with unusual date order,SL instead of LS

RPC Volume: VI №: 10032 (temporary)
Reign: Elagabalus Persons: Elagabalus (Augustus)
City: Alexandria  Region: Egypt Province: Egypt
Denomination: Tetradrachm Average weight: 12.63 g. Issue: L B = 2 (218/9)
Obverse: Α ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ΜΑ ΑΥΡ ΑΝΤωΝΙΝΟϹ ΕΥϹΕΒ; laureate head of Elagabalus, right
Reverse: L Β; Sarapis bust right, draped and wearing kalathos. 23mm, 11.64g.
Reference: D 4137, Ο 2757, Geissen 2313, E 2952 (2) Specimens: 27

I have seen a few of Elagabalus that have just enough silver in their alloy that have a silvery sheen to them. I think the tets of Diocletian were the very last ones issued.

[Postvmvs]

@kevikens Do you have any Byzantine 12 nummi? I am sure I am not the only one to look at the peculiar denomination struck only in Alexandria, with their thick and dumpy flans, and think they are in some ways a continuation of the Alexandrian tetradrachm.

[kevikens]

13 hours ago, Postvmvs said:

@kevikens Do you have any Byzantine 12 nummi? I am sure I am not the only one to look at the peculiar denomination struck only in Alexandria, with their thick and dumpy flans, and think they are in some ways a continuation of the Alexandrian tetradrachm.

You know, I never thought about that, a possible continuation of an old tradition. I don't have a lot of Byzantine but I will take a look. Just looked. No I don't but in looking at Sears Byzantine coins I did notice the 12 numia of Justinian illustrated and it certainly does look like one of the older tetras. Also i had never noticed that the other copper of Byzantine Alexandria have other unique denominations which may, perhaps, be explained by their use of their own unique coins of the Roman period. Thanks for that heads up.

Edited May 21 by kevikens
New info found

[Amarmur]

Cleopatra VII 40 drachma. She made the last Ptolemic Egyptian coins

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Nice coins and excellent display.

 

I'll share a couple both of which are silver-to-grey in appearance reflecting the inclusion of at least some silver in the coins' fabric.

 

Guess who these characters are:

 

[Roman Collector]

One of my more uncommon Alexandrian tets.

Nero and Claudia Octavia.
Roman provincial billon tetradrachm, 11.1 g, 25.0 mm.
Egypt, Alexandria, 56-57 CE.
Obv: ΝΕΡ ΚΛΑΥ ΚΑΙΣ ΣΕΒ ΓΕΡ ΑΥΤΟ, laureate head of Nero, right.
Rev: ΟΚΤΑΟΥΙΑ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΥ, bare-headed and draped bust of Octavia, right; L Γ before.
Refs: RPC 5202; BMC 119; SGI 657; Cologne 122; Milne 133; Emmett 127.

[kevikens]

15 minutes ago, Ancient Coin Hunter said:

Nice coins and excellent display.

 

I'll share a couple both of which are silver-to-grey in appearance reflecting the inclusion of at least some silver in the coins' fabric.

 

Guess who these characters are:

 

Nero and,  Nerva by a nose.

[kevikens]

1 hour ago, Amarmur said:

Cleopatra VII 40 drachma. She made the last Ptolemic Egyptian coins

There is also a tetradrachm often attributed to her but I cannot distinguish those of her father, Ptolemy Auletes and those being attributed to her.

 

[MrMonkeySwag96]

 

PTOLEMY I SOTER AR silver tetradrachm. 294-285 BC. Diademed head right, wearing aegis around neck; small Δ behind ear, banker's marks in right field. Reverse - BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY, eagle standing left on thunderbolt; to left, P above Φ in left field. Svoronos 263; SNG Copenhagen 70; BMC p. 15, 16. 26mm, 13.5g.

Edited May 21 by MrMonkeySwag96

[kevikens]

15 minutes ago, MrMonkeySwag96 said:

 

PTOLEMY I SOTER AR silver tetradrachm. 294-285 BC. Diademed head right, wearing aegis around neck; small Δ behind ear, banker's marks in right field. Reverse - BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY, eagle standing left on thunderbolt; to left, P above Φ in left field. Svoronos 263; SNG Copenhagen 70; BMC p. 15, 16. 26mm, 13.5g.

Nice coin. Question. In my OP I mentioned my difficulty in distinguishing among the various Ptolemies. If you did your own attribution what was it that said Ptolemy I and not some other member of the dynasty? Also I noticed the circular impression, one similar to the one on my Ptolemy II. I am guessing that this is a Ptolemaic bankers' test mark for an official product of the mint. I don't think I have any but Ptolemaic coins with this kind of bankers test mark. Do you know if this a typical or perhaps even exclusive Ptolemaic bankers test mark?

[JayAg47]

Couple of my favorite coins from Alexandria, gotta love the weird imagery that comes with Graeco-Egyptian syncretism. 

EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius. AE Drachm (31mm, 18.05 g). Dated RY 23 (AD 159/60). Obv: Laureate bust right, slight drapery Rev: Serapis-Agathodaemon serpent on horseback advancing right; L K Γ (date) across field. Dattari (Savio) 8939

Hadrian (117-138). Egypt, Alexandria. Æ Diobol - year 14
Serpent Agathodaemon
Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., seen from behind. R/ Serpent Agathodaemon erect r., crowned with pschent, coiled around caduceus on left and grain ears on right; L IΔ (date) in exergue.
24mm, 9.86g

 

[O-Towner]

14 hours ago, Postvmvs said:

@kevikens Do you have any Byzantine 12 nummi? I am sure I am not the only one to look at the peculiar denomination struck only in Alexandria, with their thick and dumpy flans, and think they are in some ways a continuation of the Alexandrian tetradrachm.

Here's a couple of mine:

Justinian 12 nummi, Alexandria mint (RIC 247):

There's also the 6 nummi from Alexandria (RIC 246):

 

[Qcumbor]

22 hours ago, kevikens said:

I think the tets of Diocletian were the very last ones issued.

Here are two tetradrachms (Diocletianus and Maximianus Herculus) and an octadrachm (usurper Domitius Domitianus), from the very end of the roman Provincial coinage struck at Alexandria

Dioclétien (20/11/284 - 01/05/305) - Tétradrachme de l'atelier d'Alexandrie, officine A - AD 292-293

ΔΙΟΚΛHΤΙΑΝΟC CΕΒ, Buste lauré et drapé à droite, vu par l'avant
L - ENATOY, Nike volant à droite tenant une couronne (9° année de règne), A à l'exergue
7.91 gr
Ref : Emmett # 4064/9 (R3), Kampmann #119/89

 

Maximien Hercule (286 - 305) - Tétradrachme de l'atelier d'Alexandrie, AD 292-293

MAXIMIANOC CEB, Buste lauré, drapé et cuirassé à droite vu par l'arrière
Aigle à gauche, la tête à droite, tenant une couronne dans son bec, LH dans le champ de part et d'autre de l'aigle (8° année de règne)
19,5 mm - 7,14 gr
Ref : Emmett # 4108/8 (R2), Kampmann # 120.68, Dattari # 6012

 

Domitius Domitianus, usurpateur en Egypte (296 - 297) - Octodrachme de l'atelier d'Alexandrie - AD 296-297

ΔOMITI-ANOC CEB, Buste radié de Domitius à droite
Serapis allant à droite, branche de palmier dans le champ à gauche, LB dans le champ à droite (2° année de règne)
12.79 gr
Ref : Emmett #4241/2 (cet exemplaire) (R1), Kampmann # 126.2, RCV # 12982 (2000),

Q

[kevikens]

1 hour ago, O-Towner said:

Here's a couple of mine:

Justinian 12 nummi, Alexandria mint (RIC 247):

There's also the 6 nummi from Alexandria (RIC 246):

 

Do you have the weights on these. The last tetradrachms of Alexandria were about seven grams.

[O-Towner]

5 minutes ago, kevikens said:

Do you have the weights on these. The last tetradrachms of Alexandria were about seven grams.

The 12 nummi shown is 6.2gms and I have another which weighs 4.7gms. The 6 nummi weighs 2.9gms.

[kevikens]

3 minutes ago, Qcumbor said:

Here are two tetradrachms (Diocletianus and Maximianus Herculus) and an octadrachm (usurper Domitius Domitianus), from the very end of the roman Provincial coinage struck at Alexandria

Dioclétien (20/11/284 - 01/05/305) - Tétradrachme de l'atelier d'Alexandrie, officine A - AD 292-293

ΔΙΟΚΛHΤΙΑΝΟC CΕΒ, Buste lauré et drapé à droite, vu par l'avant
L - ENATOY, Nike volant à droite tenant une couronne (9° année de règne), A à l'exergue
7.91 gr
Ref : Emmett # 4064/9 (R3), Kampmann #119/89

 

Maximien Hercule (286 - 305) - Tétradrachme de l'atelier d'Alexandrie, AD 292-293

MAXIMIANOC CEB, Buste lauré, drapé et cuirassé à droite vu par l'arrière
Aigle à gauche, la tête à droite, tenant une couronne dans son bec, LH dans le champ de part et d'autre de l'aigle (8° année de règne)
19,5 mm - 7,14 gr
Ref : Emmett # 4108/8 (R2), Kampmann # 120.68, Dattari # 6012

 

Domitius Domitianus, usurpateur en Egypte (296 - 297) - Octodrachme de l'atelier d'Alexandrie - AD 296-297

ΔOMITI-ANOC CEB, Buste radié de Domitius à droite
Serapis allant à droite, branche de palmier dans le champ à gauche, LB dans le champ à droite (2° année de règne)
12.79 gr
Ref : Emmett #4241/2 (cet exemplaire) (R1), Kampmann # 126.2, RCV # 12982 (2000),

Q

Thanks. I did not know that there was an octodrachm. I guess I see the doubling sign of the radiate crown found on the earlier dupondius and the later antoninianus.

[kevikens]

2 hours ago, O-Towner said:

The 12 nummi shown is 6.2gms and I have another which weighs 4.7gms. The 6 nummi weighs 2.9gms.

Interesting. I wonder if the Diocletian era and afterwards have their follis coins from the Alexandria  mint  thick and dumpy in the fourth and fifth centuries. It would be fascinating to discover that the Alexandria mint, whether turning out tetradrachms, folles, or nummi had gotten so used to that kind of fabric that they continued the practice right up to the Arab conquest.

[DonnaML]

Great thread & coins. Here are my Roman Alexandrian tetradrachms (and smaller denominations) in their tray, as of about six months ago. (Drachms wouldn't fit and are in a separate tray.) You can see, at least in a general way, the gradual reduction of the denomination's size and silver content, to the point at which the tetradrachms don't even qualify as "billon" ( < 50% silver) and are usually described as "potin" (sometimes defined as < 10% silver, but more commonly as a mixture of copper and tin with no silver at all). The reason the dilution isn't uniformly visible is that some of the coins up to the late 2nd century retain their superficial "silver-washed" appearance.

Edited May 21 by DonnaML

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Since we are talking about late tets of around 7 grams:

Maximian Herculis:

EGYPT. Alexandria. Maximianus, first reign, 286-305. Tetradrachm (Potin, 19 mm, 7.26 g, 12 h), RY 8 = 292/3.

ΜΑΞΙΜΙΑΝΟC CЄΒ Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Maximianus to right.

Rev. Є/ΤΟΥC / H within laurel wreath.

References: Dattari (Savio) 5999. Emmett 4161.8. K&G 120.67.

Extremely rare. Light deposits, otherwise, very fine. From the Rhakotis Collection, formed in the 1960s and 1970s (with collector’s ticket). Ex. Leu 2021 

[Victor_Clark]

 

did the end of the tetradrachm start a rebellion in Alexandria  in AD 295?

 

https://constantinethegreatcoins.com/Reform/

[MrMonkeySwag96]

9 hours ago, kevikens said:

Nice coin. Question. In my OP I mentioned my difficulty in distinguishing among the various Ptolemies. If you did your own attribution what was it that said Ptolemy I and not some other member of the dynasty? Also I noticed the circular impression, one similar to the one on my Ptolemy II. I am guessing that this is a Ptolemaic bankers' test mark for an official product of the mint. I don't think I have any but Ptolemaic coins with this kind of bankers test mark. Do you know if this a typical or perhaps even exclusive Ptolemaic bankers test mark?

I’m no expert on Ptolemaic coins. I believe tetradrachms of Ptolemy I are distinguished from his successors based on style. Tetradrachms of this portrait type have a characteristic delta Δ behind the ear, the signature of an engraver known as the “Delta Master.”

[kevikens]

4 hours ago, DonnaML said:

Great thread & coins. Here are my Roman Alexandrian tetradrachms (and smaller denominations) in their tray, as of about six months ago. (Drachms wouldn't fit and are in a separate tray.) You can see, at least in a general way, the gradual reduction of the denomination's size and silver content, to the point at which the tetradrachms don't even qualify as "billon" ( < 50% silver) and are usually described as "potin" (sometimes defined as < 10% silver, but more commonly as a mixture of copper and tin with no silver at all). The reason the dilution isn't uniformly visible is that some of the coins up to the late 2nd century retain their superficial "silver-washed" appearance.

Splendid display. I wish I had something like this to browse through at a show or shop.