Need help with attribution confirmation

Well, Bing, 20% is a rather significant weight loss. That's without considering the fact a good hadrian specimens out of alexandria would weight over 13gr.
On top of that, this flan looked rather intact...
Given roman tets were generally lighter, a sub 12gr nero would still had been considered a light weight. I've seen some missing a chunk at one edge and still topped 12gr.

 

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if I may add, for 31mm dia, that coin couldn't had been very thick, and images on both sides are still intact. Worn, but nothing missing.

Ksigsteve.
cistophoric tetradrachms were originally minted in pergamon, mysia. They were light (12-13gr when normal tets were around 17gr) but had consistent weight, and were popular.



Some point in time, they figured it would be a good idea to restrike cistophoric tets instead of melting them down to produce new ones, since the later approach would had yielded less coins (each cistophoric did not yield the amount of silver for a new coin). So you get coins like these, with stacked images.

Then, someone figured it would be ok to do with other light coins, ie.mark anthony's... This had nothing to do with the original cistophoric tetradrachm, other than the fact it's restruck on an underweight coin.

 

another 21st year hadrian tet from alexandria.
22mm diameter and 13.63gr

 

I took two more pictures. I also calibrated my scale and also confirmed the weight was 10.2 grams. Below are two pictures compared with a JFK half dollar.

 

Your dia, measured from the image is 25mm

 

Well I guess I am getting old. This is the first time I counted those marks since I don't know when. You are absolutely correct. Now that the information is correct will probably be more helpful. Thank you again. I have learned a great deal so far.

 

Thank you. There are several coin brothers on here!

 

The idea of an Alexandrian cistophorus is interesting, but one would need more examples in the range of 10g to verify the theory. One underweight flan does not a new denomination make. Every series of ancient coins has it's runts, particularly when it comes to bronze and billon.

It is the true that the production of cistophori-weight coins continued into the reign of Hadrian, but the only ones I've seen are from the mints of Halicarnassus, Pergamum, Smyrna, and "Unknown Asia." (See the Yale and MFA Boston collections.) Can anyone produce a bona fide cistophorus of Alexandria?

I'm not saying it isn't possible. Tridrachms aren't rare among provincial Levantine series. But Tridrachms and cistophori are all of good silver, not billon. Without more (many more) examples in this weight range, I don't think we can declare anything but an underweight flan.

 

Definitely agree. Not only no evidence of a cistophorus tet minted in alexandria, there were probably very few underweight coins from the egypt mint all together, and this goes beyond just Adrian's reign. Maybe has to do with the fact that egypt produced food for rome and was a place of relatively plenty throughout the 5 good

 

I really believe the amount of corrosion on the reverse could account for almost the missing 2g. Billon can leach out making a bit of copper leaving a sponge.

 

yes it happens
Reference.
Emmett 805.10; Milne 1158

Obv. AVT KAI TPAI ΑΔΡΙΑ CEB
Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right seen from behind.

Rev. L.Δ[E] KATOV (YEAR 10)
Bust of Alexandria right with elephant headdress.

6.75 gr
24 mm



copper leacks out.

 

that flan also lost couple chunks...