EGYPT. Alexandria. Hadrian, 117-138. Obol (Bronze, 19 mm, 4.32 g, 12 h), for the city of Pelousion, RY 11 = 126/7. ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙ ΤΡΑΙ ΑΔΡΙΑ CЄΒ Laureate head of Hadrian to right, with slight drapery on his left shoulder. Rev. ΠΗ[ΛΟ]Υ / L ΙΑ Head of Zeus Kasios-Baal Saphon to right, wearing taenia and hemhem crown. Dattari (Savio) 6346. Emmett 1231.11. K&G 40.2. RPC III 6532. Repatinated and with some scratches, otherwise, good fine.


This coin forms part of the 'nome coinage', struck under several emperors starting from Domitian and ending with Antoninus Pius. The division of Egypt into nomes (smaller districts) had its roots in the pharaonic administration, but continued to be used in the Graeco-Roman period. On the reverse of the obols struck by Hadrian (probably for the emperor's decennalia), the respective nomes are identified through the legend and a local deity is depicted.

This coin was not struck for an entire nome, however, but to celebrate the harbor city of Pelousion, a key node in the trade between Egypt, Syria and the Red Sea. The reverse shows Zeus Kasios, the Greek counterpart of the Semitic Baal Saphon, whose sacred mountain stood near the city. The Egyptians venerated Baal Saphon under the guise of Ammon, but the deity’s origins were decidedly Near Eastern. Befitting the location of his cult, Zeus Kasios was particularly known as the protector of sailors and ships at sea.