EGYPT. Alexandria. Maximianus. First reign, A.D. 286-305. Potin tetradrachm. 7.24 gm. 17 mm. Dated RY 4 (A.D. 288/9). His laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Alexandria standing facing, head left, holding bust of Serapis and scepter; L - Δ (date) flanking. Milne 4904-4906. Curtis 2052-2054. Good Very Fine; pleasing green and brown patina.

Egypt was one of the most important Roman provinces from the start. Octavian first brought it under Roman rule by defeating Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 30 B.C. and annexing the former Ptolemaic kingdom. As the main provider of grain to the Empire it was its "bread basket," making it both wealthy and strategically vital. Roman prefects in Egypt held far more power than the governors of lesser territories. Though Roman Egyptian coinage is not as widely collected as coinage from elsewhere in the empire, it is a fascinating series, progressing as it does from the pre-Roman Ptolemaic series into later imperial styles and progressive debasements. These potin tetradrachms are particularly distinctive from the debased antoninianii the rest of the empire had to work with at this time. The group offered here presents a nice variety of reverse types.