Tetradrachm - Nero ΕΤΟΥΣ ΒΙΡ Ι

Antioch's civic tetradrachm coinage was closely tied to Rome's administrative needs in the East — these heavy silver pieces served as the primary vehicle for paying legions stationed along the Parthian frontier. The year ΒΙΡ (year 112 of the Caesarean era) places this coin squarely in the tense period following Corbulo's campaigns in Armenia, when Roman and Parthian forces were negotiating the compromise that would eventually produce the Treaty of Rhandeia in 63 AD.

Prieur 90 is among the better-documented varieties in the series, with McAlee's die study confirming a relatively modest surviving population.