Diocletian, AD 284-305, Tetradrachm

Diocletian, Tetradrachm, Billon, reign AD 284–305; Alexandria, regnal year 2 (AD 285/6). 7.1 g; 19 mm. Obv: Α Κ Γ ΟΥΑΛ ΔΙΟΚΛΗΤΙΑΝΟϹ ϹΕΒ; laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. Rev: L B, Egyptian regnal year 2 (= AD 285/6). Struck at Alexandria with regnal-year dating in Greek. RPC X Online, ID 75907 (temporary; unassigned).

Issued early in Diocletian’s reign, this Alexandrian tetradrachm belongs to the final phase of Egypt’s distinct provincial currency, which used Greek legends and Egyptian regnal-year notation (L = “year”). The series ended under Diocletian’s monetary reforms c. AD 296/7, when provincial issues were replaced by the empire-wide reformed coinage (notably the nummus), marking the integration of Roman Egypt’s monetary system into the broader Tetrarchic economy.