KINGS OF ARMENIA. Tigranes IV (Restored) and Erato, 2 BC-AD 1. Oktachalkon (Bronze, 25 mm, 14.40 g, 1 h), with Augustus. Artaxata. [BACIΛЄYC MЄ]ΓAC NЄOC TIΓPAHNC Draped bust of Tigranes IV to right, wearing five-pointed tiara tied with a diadem. Rev. KA[ICAP ΘЄOC ΘЄO]Y YIOC CЄBACTOC Head of Augustus to left. Kovacs 178. RPC I 3841. Extremely rare and of great historical importance. Flan fault on the obverse, otherwise, good fine.


Tigranes IV struck this impressive oktachalkon after his return to power and his reconciliation with Augustus, who had previously backed the king's uncle Artavasdes III. Having received the crown from the emperor, the king then put his new patron's portrait on the back of his largest coins. The images and legends on this extremely rare issue are a beautiful testimony to the communication between a Graeco-Armenian king and his Roman overlord: the obverse shows Tigranes wearing the royal Armenian tiara and calls him 'the new Great King Tigranes', with the NЄOC likely referring to his changed attitude towards Rome and the title 'Great' indicating that Tigranes ruled over another kingdom, perhaps Sophene. The reverse, on the other hand, shows a plain portrait of Augustus, who is called 'Caesar, god, son of a god, Augustus' - an obvious adaption of the Latin title Caesar Augustus Divi filius, expanded by the decidedly non-Roman appellation of the emperor as a 'god' himself.