Egypt, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius, 138-161. Drachm (Bronze, 33.50 mm, 24.01 g). Dated RY 4 = AD 140/1. [AYT K T AI] Λ AΔΡ ANTωΝΙΝΟϹC ЄYC Є Bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust right. Rev. Statue of Nilus left, holding reed and cornucopia, seated on rocks upon which crocodile climbs, all within a temple with four columns and disk in tympanum; in field L Δ (date). RPC IV, 4.306. Emmett 1627. Cf. Dattari 3051. Attractive brown tone. Very Fine/Good Very Fine. Ex Naville Numismatics Ltd., Auction 58, 14.06.2020, lot 315. The uncrowned imperial portraits on the obverses of Alexandrian coins always exert a particular fascination because in them all the art and style of the engraver is revealed, given the difficulty of fully expressing the physiognomy of the sovereign without trespassing into the banality of the idealised image. This is the case on our drachm where the portrait of Antoninus Pius is realised by the engraver with calm and human realism: a master's work. Similarly, on the reverse, the monumental importance of the temple, which completely occupies the surface of the coin, fully emphasises the figure of Nilus, not reduced to an indefinable presence but displayed in dimensions that make it possible, thanks also to the splendid preservation of the coin, to recognise every minimum detail and symbol of the divinity, from the lotus flower on the taenia above Nilus' head, to the branch of the papyrus plant, from the cornucopia to the crocodile.