Hadrian, 117-138, Tetradrachm

Hadrian, Tetradrachm, AR, reign AD 117–138; struck at Alexandria, Year 21 (AD 136/7). 13.34 g; 24 mm.

Obverse bears the Greek legend ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙϹ ΤΡΑΙΑΝ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟϹ ϹΕΒ with laureate head of Hadrian right. Reverse with L ΚΑ in the field, the regnal year mark for 21 (AD 136/7). Struck at Alexandria during Hadrian’s twenty-first regnal year. Referenced: RPC III 6136.

Alexandrian tetradrachms formed the closed provincial currency of Roman Egypt, struck with Greek legends and dated by regnal year using the L + Greek numeral system; L KA here fixes the issue to AD 136/7 near the end of Hadrian’s reign. The obverse titulature, styling him “Autokrator Kaisar Traian Hadrian Sebastos,” underscores his adoptive link to Trajan and standard imperial titulature in the East. These precisely dated issues are primary evidence for Egypt’s distinct monetary system and mint operations under Roman rule, integral to the province’s economic role as the empire’s chief grain supplier.