172, Lot: 130. Estimate $100. Sold for $220. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. Æ 80 Drachmae (25mm, 15.94 g). First series, struck circa 30-27 BC. Bare head right / Eagle standing left on thunderbolt; cornucopiae before, P behind. Köln 1; Milne -; RPC 5001; Emmett 1. Fine, brown patina with some green. The first Roman Alexandrian coin.

From The John A. Seeger Collection.

The first coinage of the new province of Egypt was a direct copy of the bronze coinage of Cleopatra, the last Ptolemaic ruler, with the portrait of Augustus replacing the Queen’s. Egypt, wealthy and a vital source of grain for the empire, was never to be allowed as a potential leaping-off point for a rival emperor. The new province was held under tight control by the emperor. Its governor was to be an equestrian prefect answerable to Augustus, with a legion under his direct command. The Senate would have no say in the administration of the province, and in fact senators were forbidden to travel there without permission.