Nero 54-68 AD - AE Obol - RPC-I-5265

Nero 54-68 AD
AE Obol, yr. 61/2 AD, Alexandria
Obv. Laureate head of Nero, right.
Rev. Tiridates bound at the base of a trophy.
RPC-I-5265
Image shown: Oxford, Ashmolean Museum HCR33981

This Alexandrian obol carries the regnal date “LH,” confirming it was struck in Nero’s year 8 (AD 61/62) at Egypt’s provincial mint. Its reverse shows a trophy over a kneeling, bound figure identified in contemporary descriptions as Tiridates I of Armenia, visually proclaiming an expected Roman victory in the 58-63 war just as Lucius Caesennius Paetus was marching east; Tacitus notes that confidence was still high before Paetus’ disaster at Rhandeia in late 62 AD. The design therefore represents imperial propaganda rather than a documented triumph. Nero himself was not in Alexandria at this time: Suetonius records that he abandoned a planned voyage to Egypt after ominous portents and did not travel east until his Greek tour of 66/67 AD. Alexandria continued to issue annual bronze coinage for each emperor regardless of the ruler’s physical presence, so the minting location reflects standard provincial practice, not Nero’s personal visit.