Æ15 - Nero ΠΟ ΟΥΟΛΑΣΕΝΝΑ ΑΝΚΥΡΑΝΩΝ, ΑΙΤΗΣ (ΜΕ) ΒΑΣΣΙΛΛ (in field)

Ancyra in Lydia — not to be confused with the far more prominent Ancyra in Galatia — was a small conventus settlement whose civic coinage depended entirely on the goodwill of Roman provincial administration. This piece dates to the third year of Nero's reign over the province of Asia, when the city secured permission to strike bronze under the auspices of a local magistrate whose name, Bassillus, appears abbreviated in the field. The granting of such minting rights was a political act, not an administrative one, and small cities competed fiercely for the privilege.