When Hadrian Arrived in Alexandria (Cartoon and Coin)

This week's Franklin's World cartoon made me think of Hadrian's travel series. Post your coins depicting Alexandria, Hadrian's travels, or anything you feel is relevant!




Hadrian, AD 117-138.
Roman AR denarius, 2.98 g, 17.7 mm, 7 h.
Rome, AD 138.
Obv: HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, laureate head, right.
Rev: AEGYPTOS, Egypt reclining left, holding sistrum and leaning on basket, around which a snake coils. Ibis on left, facing right.
Refs: RIC 296, BMCRE 801-804, RCV 3456, Strack 294.
Notes: Bubbling and cracking of the coin's surface suggests this is an ancient fourée, but alternatively, it may be due to a lamination problem with the flan.

 

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Yeah, wearing a fetal elephant on your head isn't very sexy, is it?

Here's that scene on a drachm. The coin isn't well-lit and needs a reshoot. Someday...


Hadrian drachm / personification of Alexandria, wearing elephant skin head dress, kissing the hand of Hadrian. 35 mm, 24.8 gm. Emmett 964.15

 

What could be a more apt coin to post for this thread?! Fantastic coin!

 

Well, there's Roman denarii with people wearing human skin for a jacket (L. Censorinus denarius), or wearing dried up bull penis on their forehead (Elagabalus), or wearing a dead goat over their head (the L. Thorius Balbus denarius amongst others), so is a dead elephant as a hat really that unusual? I think it's cool.

 

The scene just before the one shown on TIF's coin...


HADRIAN
AE Drachm. 23.84g, 34.8mm. Alexandria, AD 130-131 (Year 15). Köln 1037; Milne 1314; Emmett 966. O: AVT KAI TRAI ADRIA CEB, laureate, draped, cuirassed bust right, seen from the back. R: Hadrian, laureate and togate, holding short, eagle-tipped sceptre in left hand, driving quadriga of walking horses right; before the horses, Alexandria standing wearing elephant headdress, short chiton, peplos and boots, raising right hand and holding vexillum in left; LIE in exergue.

 

Scene before zumbley's coin, Hadrian on its way to Alexandria:

 

A few years earlier. Nero: “not my hand. We can’t even be seen together on the same side of the coins”


Photo courtesy of cng.

 

Hadrian, AE drachm, Nilos reclining.

Egypt, Alexandria - Hadrian. (117-138)
Year 127-128

Type: AE Drachm, 32mm 24.42 grams

Obverse: AVT KAI TPAI AAPIA CEB, Laureate draped and cuirassed bust right

Reverse: LDW (delta) EK in exergue, Nilos reclining left upon a crocodile, holding cornucopia and reed, Genius emerging from the cornucopia and pointing at letters IS in upper field

Reference: Milne 1269

 

I was lucky enough to get nice examples of both TIF and Zumbly's coins at our New Orleans coin show two weekends ago. Love those big bronze coins! I was thinking that maybe they weren't that excited about seeing Hadrian, which is why they showed up wearing a dead elephant ....

 

EGYPT, Alexandria. Hadrian Tetradrachm 130-31 AD Hadrian-Alexandria
Reference.
RPC III, 5768; Emmett 845.15; Köln 1026; Dattari 1268.

Issue L IE = year 15

Obv. AVT KAI TPAI ADPIA CEB
Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right

Rev. L-IE
Hadrian standing to left holding scepter receiving corn ears from Alexandria

12.16 gr
25 mm
12 h

Note.
Struck to commemorate the emperor’s visit to Alexandria in AD 130. It was during this visit that Hadrian’s favorite, the Bithynian youth Antinous, drowned in the Nile.


EGYPT, Alexandria. Hadrian Tetradrachm 125-26 AD Alexandria
Reference.
Emmett 805.10; Milne 1158; RPC III, 5565

Issue L ΔΕΚΑΤΟΥ = year 10

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

Rev. L.ΔE KATOV
Bust of Alexandria right with elephant headdress.

6.75 gr
24 mm

 

I just bought this guy. He is coming in the mail as we speak. Hadrian Denarius RIC 300 Rv Alexandria stg

 

My example arrived in 1998 with what I consider an odd coppery red tone. There are a few silver specks of wear through so it is silver. I wonder what conditions produced this 'patina'.

 

I saw your coin before, not only rare but a very nice coloring too! Curious about the coloring, i searched the internet and found this: https://davidmbowman.com/patinas/silver.htm See the picture of the round silver something (dish?). Maybe you saw this site already, maybe it is hulpful.

Here are my travel coins. I need to update the photo's of some and put them in the new format. One of my targets is to collect as many as i can, which is a challenge because some of them are rare/scarce: