EGYPT. Alexandria. Hadrian, 117-138. Obol (Bronze, 18 mm, 4.82 g, 12 h), Arsinoite nome, RY 11 = 126/7. ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙ ΤΡΑΙ ΑΔΡΙΑ CЄΒ Laureate head of Hadrian to right, with slight drapery on his left shoulder. Rev. ΑΡCI / L ΙΑ Head of Amenemhat III to right, wearing nemes adorned with uraeus. Dattari (Savio) 6210. Emmett 1221.11. K&G N6.6. RPC III online 6296.63 (this coin). Repatinated, otherwise, about very 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 struck for the Arsinoites, so named by Ptolemy II for his wife and sister Arsinoe II, although the region is better known as the Fayoum today. Ancient life in the Fayoum is particularly well-known thanks to the large finds of papyri there. The figure depicted on the reverse is Amenemhat III, an Egyptian pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty, who ruled from circa 1831 to 1786 BCE. This makes him the oldest historical figure to be depicted on an ancient coin. Amenemhat oversaw an important land reclamation project in the Fayoum, and at Hawara, a pyramid of his along with the remains of a mortuary temple can still be seen today. This temple complex was known as the 'Labyrinth' in Graeco-Roman Egypt and even formed something of a tourist attraction.