Æ13 - Augustus ΑΒΥΔ

Abydus, the Mysian city controlling the narrowest point of the Hellespont, issued bronze coinage under Augustus as part of the broader reorganization of Greek civic minting that followed Actium. The city's strategic position — where Xerxes famously bridged the strait in 480 BC and where the toll rights alone generated substantial revenue — gave it enough standing to maintain a local mint under the new imperial arrangement. Civic bronzes of this type circulated as small change within the immediate region, rarely traveling far from their point of issue, which explains their tendency to survive in heavily worn condition.