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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marsyas Mike, post: 8039962, member: 85693&quot;]Terrific coins and write-up [USER=110350]@DonnaML[/USER] - and everybody else too.&nbsp; As an eBay scrounger, I have found that earlier Roman Egypt material is really hard to find cheap, which means I don&#039;t have much pre-Diocletian, and what I do have is pretty rough.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Here is my most recent example - the seller didn&#039;t know what it was, so he listed it cheap (buy-it-now) for under $5.&nbsp; Although it is hard to <i>love</i>, I did find that I <i>liked</i> it far more than I thought I would when it showed up - it&#039;s nice and big and <i>smooth</i>.&nbsp; No Zodiac sign or snakes on this one; RPC describes the structure as a &quot;temple (classical) with two columns,&quot;:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1392222[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>Hadrian&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Æ Drachm</b></p><p><b>Year 3 (LΓ) (118/119 A.D.)</b></p><p><b>Alexandria Mint</b></p><p>[ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙϹ ΤΡΑΙ]ΑΝΟϹ [ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟϹ ϹƐΒ], laureate head right, drapery on shoulder</p><p>/ Temple with two columns, Sarapis within standing facing, resting hand on shrine, holding sceptre, [L]- Γ (?)</p><p>(15.20 grams / 30 mm)</p><p>eBay Sep. 2021&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; $4.75 BIN</p><p><b>Attribution Note:</b></p><p>Obverse legend [ΤΡΑΙ]ΑΝΟϹ is found on early issues only.&nbsp; Reverse letter in right field has straight back, probably Γ </p><p>RPC III, 5170; Geissen 777; BMC Greek (Alexandria) 2909.</p><p><br /></p><p>Serapis in &quot;classical&quot; temple type seems to be scarce; only one in acsearch, though RPC refs. 11 museum specimens. </p><p><br /></p><p>While I&#039;m on the ugly side of Hadrianic Egypt, I&#039;d like to toss out a mystery here.&nbsp; A couple years ago my local dealer had some Roman Egyptian stuff in his junk bin (!) which I of course scooped up, junk being irresistible.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>From that batch, this one really baffles me - it might be a fake of some sort, with a great deal of effort put into making it look old.&nbsp; The type/weight/denomination never lined up to anything I could find - my efforts at attribution below the photo: </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1392234[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>Hadrian&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Æ Hemidrachm?</b></p><p><b>(Year 14 / 129-130 A.D.)</b></p><p><b>Alexandria Mint</b></p><p>AYT KAI TPAI AΔPIA CEB, laureate,draped and cuirassed bust right / LI - Δ Isis Pharia standing right, holding sistrum and billowing sail.</p><p>RPC III 5748; Dattari 1753 (?).</p><p>(Lightweight forgery or Diobol?)</p><p>(7.79 grams / 27 mm)</p><p><b>Attribution Note:&nbsp; </b>Weight is light for hemidrachms of this era, but about right for</p><p>a diobol.&nbsp; No diobols of this type are listed for Hadrian that I could find. </p><p><br /></p><p>Any help with this one greatly appreciated![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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