EGYPT. Alexandria. Domitian, 81-96. Obol (Orichalcum, 18 mm, 3.35 g, 12 h), RY 11 = 91/2. ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ΔΟΜΙΤ ϹЄΒ ΓЄΡΜ Laureate head of Domitian to right. Rev. L IA Sphinx reclining right. Dattari (Savio) 570. Emmett 326.11. K&G 24.181. RPC II online 2645.10 (this coin). An exceptional example, certainly among the finest known of this difficult issue. Patina stripped, otherwise, good very fine.




While many Alexandrian coins adhered to Greco-Roman motifs, the coinage was also infused with distinctly Egyptian elements, such as local deities, canopi, and temples. One of the most striking reverse types in this regard is undoubtedly the sphinx. Although the winged sphinx was not new - due to its role in Greek tragedy and its use as an iconographic element on coins - the sphinx on our coin is distinctly more Egyptian in style (and male, unlike the Greek sphinx), evoking the Great Sphinx of Giza. Whether the latter is actually depicted is uncertain; the nearby Great Pyramids, for example, were never featured on Alexandrian coins, and sphinxes were relatively ubiquitous in Egypt (the dromos connecting the temples of Karnak and Luxor, for instance, was lined with smaller sphinxes). Nonetheless, the impressive appearance of the sphinx on Alexandrian coins reflects Rome's appreciation - and perhaps even admiration - for Ancient Egypt's monumental art.