Diocletian Alexandrian billon tetradrachm Tyche regnal year 3 AD 286/7

Diocletian, tetradrachm, billon; reign AD 284–305, struck at Alexandria AD 286–287; 7.5 g; 19 mm.

Alexandrian provincial issue dated by the reverse legend ΕΤΟΥϹ Γ to regnal year 3 (AD 286/287). Obverse Α Κ Γ ΟΥΑ ΔΙΟΚΛΗΤΙΑΝΟϹ ϹΕΒ, laureate and cuirassed bust of Diocletian right, seen from the front. Reverse ΕΤΟΥϹ Γ, Tyche standing left, wearing mural crown, holding rudder and cornucopia; star in field. Struck on billon flan with Greek legends; die axis 12h. Reference: RPC X (online), unassigned; ID 75978. Historical significance: This tetradrachm belongs to the final phase of Egypt’s separate provincial coinage, which continued to use Greek inscriptions and regnal-year dating under Diocletian. The Tyche type represents the civic deity of Alexandria and its control of maritime trade, while the star serves as a control mark. Within a decade Diocletian’s currency reform replaced the Alexandrian tetradrachm with imperial denominations, ending a tradition of locally distinctive coinage that had begun under Augustus.