Several Alexandria (tetra)drachms have recently come my way, but I'm having problems reading and dating them. So, I will need help from our Ancient coin enthusiasts and experts: Auction description: AE hemidrachm (12.19 gm). Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust right / Nilus reclining left, legs draped, holding reeds in right hand, resting left arm on small hippopotamus. Emmett -. Milene -. Cf. Emmett 551.11 (similar drachm). Questions: Is this coin a hemidrachm v. drachm? The coin measures about 30 mm. What is the obverse inscription: AYTK? TRAIAN??? CEB (Sorry for the incorrect Greek script.) What is the reverse inscription: LAWA?K (Sorry for the incorrect Greek script.) What is the date of this coin? Does the inscription on the back, LA, mean regnal year 1 (AD 98)? Sorry for my novice questions. Thank you in advance, guy
Nice coin! I'd be happy to have it in my collection. By size, weight, and metal it's a hemidrachm and the reverse shows Euthenia, not Nilus, and it's an andro-sphinx, not hippo. The letters in exergue, LΔωΔEK, spell an abbreviation of the regnal year, which on this coin is year 12. Some of these Alexandrian coins use "L-(one or two letters)" and some more fully spell out the year. EGYPT, Alexandria. Hadrian AE hemidrachm, regnal year 12 (CE 127/8) Obv: AVTKAI TPAIAΔPIACEB; laureate draped bust right (I don't know if he is cuirassed or not; Emmett isn't fussy about describing those details) Rev: Euthenia reclining left on andro-sphinx, holding grain ears; LΔωΔEK in exergue Ref: Emmett 1086.12, R1; Milne 1270 AVT(OKPATΩP) KAI(CAP) TPAI(ANOC) AΔPIA(NOC) CEB(ACTOC) = Imperator Caesar Trajanus Hadrianus Augustus This type of Hadrian hemidrachm was issued in regnal years 12 (rarity rating 1 or common), 13 (R2), 20 (R5, highest rarity), and 21 (R5). These rarity rating should be taken with a grain of salt though. You can sometimes find numerous R5 coins and spend years looking for certain R1 coins. Emmett's rarity ratings were assigned based on the collections he inspected while compiling his reference book.
Often the best answer when trying to read a coin is to find similar coins that will answer questions in comparison. To this end I offer my well worn coin with the same LΔωΔEK weighing 25.7g. That pretty well justifies your coin being a hemidrachm. Mine is Nilus with crocodile couch - the other choice than the hippo which I don't own so I'll link to an acsearch coin. http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1818706 Notice both Nilus varieties have the Nilometer reading of 16 indicating flood level required for a good flooding of the fields. You won't find this number on coins with other deities like Euthenia (Abundance). If you are to collect Alexandrian it really helps to learn the faces of Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. They are, with a bit of practice, easily distinguished without legends just as are the friends you see each day. Hadrian always includes a part or all of Trajan's name before his own and fools new collectors who forget that Greek does not write the initial H leaving AΔPIA(NOC) easily overlooked. It gets worse when you note that the Greek R is a P with a very small top loop making it easily confused with the I next to it. No better is the way the pair A+Δ looks like two identical letters leaving what looks like AAIIA for us to read as Hadrian. Perhaps you see why I say it is better if you make friends with the faces of these guys? Silver tetradrachms are often a bit sharper but the same 'handwriting' issues are clear on the coin below (also year 12). The face, however, is the same. These ID's were worked out by museum scholars who have a hundred or thousand coins to use for comparison. When you have a single coin to ID, you may benefit from seeking photos of similar looking coins rather than just catalog listings that can make it hard to tell what it is you have in hand. May I mention that your hemidrachm is a very nice coin which I for one would welcome in my trays. Thank you for sharing your excellent photos.
Great new addition, Bart!! (wow, and you say that you have a bunch more to show off as well?!) ... man, I can't wait!! I have an A-Pius version ... ANTONINUS PIUS. Æ DRACHM 138-161 AD Diameter: 33 mm Weight: 23.88 grams Obverse: Bare-headed and draped bust right Reverse: Euthenia reclining left, resting on a sphinx, holding grain-ears Reference: Köln 1301 var Other: Fine, brown patina, old scratches under patina
Nice coin, congrats! On my screen, some of the paler green spots in the shallow pits at the back of Hadrian's head and in areas around the rim look like they could be (re?)emerging bronze disease. I hate to get you alarmed, but I feel you can never be too careful with these.
