Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Triton XVIII Sessions 1 & 2 6 January 2015
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EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ Drachm (33mm, 24.57 g, 12h). Zodiac series. Dated RY 8 (AD 144/5). [AVT K] T AIΛ A∆P ANTωNINOC CЄB [ЄVC], laureate head right / Selene (Moon) in Cancer: draped bust of Selene right; star of eight rays before, crescent moon below, crab beneath all; L–H (date) to either side. Köln 1494; Dattari (Savio) 2964; K&G 35.270; Emmet 1681.8. VF, dark green and brown patina with touches of red, earthen highlights/deposits, edge split.
Alexandria saw an immense output of coinage during the eighth year of Antoninus Pius's reign. The Zodiac drachms, mythological types, and a host of issues for the nomes appeared that year. One explanation for this activity centers on the celebration of the renewal of the Great Sothic cycle, the point when the star Sothis (Sirius) rises on the same point on the horizon as the sun. This cycle of 1461 years began early in the reign of Pius in AD 139, and apparently prompted a renewal in the ancient Egyptian religion, while the coin types also stressed the connections to the Greco-Roman Pantheon.
Alexandria saw an immense output of coinage during the eighth year of Antoninus Pius's reign. The Zodiac drachms, mythological types, and a host of issues for the nomes appeared that year. One explanation for this activity centers on the celebration of the renewal of the Great Sothic cycle, the point when the star Sothis (Sirius) rises on the same point on the horizon as the sun. This cycle of 1461 years began early in the reign of Pius in AD 139, and apparently prompted a renewal in the ancient Egyptian religion, while the coin types also stressed the connections to the Greco-Roman Pantheon.