AR25 - Nero ΔΗΜΗΤΕΡ, L Ε

Nero's Egyptian coinage was administered through the Roman prefect's office in Alexandria, which operated a closed monetary system — Roman coins did not circulate freely in Egypt, and Alexandrian issues were not legal tender elsewhere. The billon tetradrachm was the workhorse of that system. By the time of this L Ε (year 5) issue, the fineness of the alloy had already begun a slow decline that would accelerate dramatically under later emperors, though Neronian pieces still retain relatively respectable silver content compared to what followed.

The regnal year 5 corresponds to the Egyptian fiscal year running 58–59 AD, shortly after Nero had his mother Agrippina the Younger murdered at Baiae.