EGYPT. Alexandria. Antoninus Pius (138-161). BI Tetradrachm. Dated RY 2 (AD 138/9).

Obv: ΑΥΤ Κ Τ ΑΙΛ ΑΔΡ ΑΝΤωΝΙΝΟϹ ЄΥϹ(Є)Β.
Laureate head right.
Rev: ΑΙωΝ / L - Β (date).
Phoenix, crowned with nimbus, standing right.

RPC IV.4 33; Dattari (Savio) 2428; Emmett 1419.2.

Scarce

In ancient times, people measured time using two main methods: observing the sun or the moon. The Egyptians were an exception because they used both methods at the same time, creating a civil calendar and a religious one. The civil calendar was based on Sothis, which moves parallel to the sun and, with its sunrise, marked the beginning of the annual flooding of the Nile. The entire civil year revolved around the river and its fertility. In fact, farmers divided the year into three seasons: flooding, sowing, and harvesting. The religious year, on the other hand, was based on the lunar calendar. Each month was dedicated to a different divinity who was celebrated during that period. However, the two calendars had different lengths, being based on different calculations, and coincided again after 1460 years, on July 19, AD 139, when the star Sothis aligned perfectly with the Sun on the horizon. This phenomenon marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new cycle during the reign of Antoninus Pius, and was celebrated with the special issue of a series of coins centered on the Zodiac. All the signs of the zodiac were represented on these coins, but they began with the Phoenix, as it was believed that the exceptional, millennial alignment of Sothis with the Sun also corresponded to the mythical rebirth of this sacred animal, symbol of eternal regeneration.

Condition: Near very fine.

Weight: 14.26 g.
Diameter: 25 mm.