Tiberius - tetradrachm with Divius Augustus (S2315)

Tiberius (14-37), Tetradrachm, Egypt: Alexandria, AD 20-21; BI (g 14.03; mm 24); TIBEPIOΣ KAIΣAP ΣEBAΣTOΣ, laureate head of Tiberius r.; before, LZ, Rv. ΘEOΣ - ΣEBAΣTOΣ, radiate head of Divus Augustus r. RPC 5089; Dattari 78.Cabinet tone, strong portraits struck in high relief, good very fine.

This splendid tetradrachm displays Tiberius' obsession with preserving the memory and cult of his predecessor and father-in-law, Augustus Caesar. Now deified, Augustus is shown on the reverse with the radiate crown of the sun god Helios. Augustus had annexed Egypt to the Roman Empire following his defeat of Antony and Cleopatra, and Tiberius took great care to keep maintain the operation of Egypt as the special preserve of the Princeps governed by a prefect of equestrian status appointed directly by the Emperor. As a special enclave, Egypt maintained its own currency system, including silver tetradrachms such as this one. Visitors from elsewhere in the Empire were required to turn in their Roman coinage for Egyptian issues, the transaction netting a tidy profit for the provincial government.