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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TIF, post: 2992702, member: 56859&quot;]It&#039;s a coin of Roman emperor Aurelian, struck in Alexandria, Egypt.</p><p><br /></p><p>The denomination is called a tetradrachm but it&#039;s not like a Greek tetradrachm, which is silver.&nbsp; This metal is a very low silver content bronze alloy.</p><p><br /></p><p>The full attribution of your coin is:</p><p><br /></p><p><b>EGYPT, Alexandria.&nbsp; Aurelian</b></p><p>Regnal year 5 (CE 273/4)</p><p>potin tetradrachm</p><p>Obverse:&nbsp; AKΛΔOMAVPHΛIANOCCEB; draped cuirassed bust right</p><p>Reverse:&nbsp; eagle standing left, head right, wings open, wreath in beak; ETOVC - E</p><p>Reference:&nbsp; Emmett 3924.5, rarity of R1 (most common, in his rating scheme)</p><p><br /></p><p>Some notes:</p><p><br /></p><p>The date is on the reverse.&nbsp; ETOVC means something like &quot;year of reign&quot; and the year, stated as a letter, is on the right side of your coin.&nbsp; For this emperor and this reverse, that letter is going to be either an E, an S, or a Z.&nbsp; Of those choices, yours looks most like an E.&nbsp; Plus, according to Emmett, this reverse was only issued in his 5th year of reign so visible or not, that&#039;s by far the most likely date.</p><p><br /></p><p>The obverse description might vary slightly from what I&#039;ve written.&nbsp; Emmett&#039;s book isn&#039;t big on noting minor differences in the legends.&nbsp; In case you are interested, here is what that legend means (it&#039;s a bunch of abbreviated names and titles):</p><p><br /></p><p><b>AVT</b>[OKPATΩP]&nbsp; <b>K</b>[AICAP]&nbsp; <b>Λ</b>[OVKIOC] <b>Δ</b>[OMITIOC] <b>AVPHΛIANOC</b> <b>CEB</b>[ACTOC]</p><p>= Imperator Caesar Lucius Domitius Aurelianus Augustus</p><p><br /></p><p>It is a collectible coin, not of high value.&nbsp; Many people (including me <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />) love coins of Roman Egypt.&nbsp; Here are a couple of comparisons currently for sale in &quot;retail&quot; online venues:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]738716[/ATTACH]</p><p><a href="https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/marc_breitsprecher_classical_numismatist/8/product/aurelian_egypt_alexandria_198_tetradrachm__eagle/822507/Default.aspx" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/marc_breitsprecher_classical_numismatist/8/product/aurelian_egypt_alexandria_198_tetradrachm__eagle/822507/Default.aspx" rel="nofollow">https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/marc_breitsprecher_classical_numismatist/8/product/aurelian_egypt_alexandria_198_tetradrachm__eagle/822507/Default.aspx</a></p><p>The dealer is asking $50.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]738717[/ATTACH]</p><p><a href="https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/zuzim/172/product/aurelian_potin_tetradrachm_alexandria_choice_aef_273274_ce/575240/Default.aspx" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/zuzim/172/product/aurelian_potin_tetradrachm_alexandria_choice_aef_273274_ce/575240/Default.aspx" rel="nofollow">https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/zuzim/172/product/aurelian_potin_tetradrachm_alexandria_choice_aef_273274_ce/575240/Default.aspx</a></p><p>The dealer is asking $95.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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