Æ16 - Tiberius C APRON DOIO IIVIR

Cnossus retained its status as a Roman colony — Colonia Iulia Nobilis — well into the Julio-Claudian period, and its local magistrates continued issuing bronze coinage under the duumviral system long after Augustus consolidated imperial authority. The duumviri named in this issue, rendered in the abbreviated form visible on the coin, were the senior elected officials of the colonial administration, responsible for civil and judicial functions. Their appearance on municipal bronze places this piece squarely within the colonial self-governance framework Rome permitted its Cretan foundation.

Cnossus was unusual among Cretan cities in maintaining continuous colonial coinage through Tiberius's reign, when many eastern mints went quiet.