Æ19 - Nero ΟΡΘΩϹΙΕΩΝ

Orthosia was a minor Carian coastal settlement whose civic coinage output was sporadic at best, largely dependent on favorable moments in its relationship with the Roman provincial administration at Alabanda. The Conventus of Alabanda grouped several such small communities for judicial and administrative purposes, and the right to strike local bronze — essentially fractional currency for market use — was not automatic. That Orthosia issued under Nero at all suggests a deliberate civic assertion during the early, relatively stable years of his reign, before the political climate deteriorated sharply after 59.