Roman Provincial
EGYPT, Alexandria.
Antoninus Pius (138–161 AD) Æ ‘Lighthouse of Alexandria’ Drachm
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This coin represents one of the wonders of the ancient world: the Lighthouse of Alexandria! Thanks to this and other coins, which were struck when the lighthouse was still standing, we know what it looked like. We can see the base with stairs, the windows, the statues of the tritons blowing a conch, and on top, a statue of a God, possibly Helios.
This coin is remarkable for a variety of reasons:
- One of the best preserved of its kind
- Belonged to Giovanni Dattari (1853–1923. Wiki article)
- Belonged to Giovanni Maria Staffieri
- Published in RPC IV.4 by the British Museum and Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Coin 74, specimen 13, plate 6). Here the online version and here my coin and the complete plate
- Published in Dattari-Savio (8561). Here the comparison with my coin.
- Published in Figari-Mosconi (645)
- Classical Numismatics made a video about it.
- Here I talk extensively about it
- Here a video of the coin
- I even made an animation!
