Does anyone have thoughts why there was no coinage struck with Caligula's image from
Alexandria? (tetradrachms-Eygypt)
Why do you think there are no Alex. Tetradrachms of
Caligula?
One answer
I'm afraid there is no
good answer to this question. I can only
make a few guesses. The reign of
Caligula was a period of
civil upheaval in
Alexandria, with the Jews and
Greeks constantly
fighting. This likely disrupted the local governments ability to
function, or at least changed their priorities.
As
Egypt was a closed economy, theoretically not too much
coinage would leave so perhaps there was not a driving need
to produce more coinage. On the other hand, in times of crisis
money is likely to be hoarded and thus leave circulation.
Another possibility is that there were some Alexandrian issues
struck for
Caligula, but in such small numbers that none have
yet come to light.
Sorry that none of these are definitive answers, but I
hope they
shed some light on the possibilities.
