Byzantium's civic bronze issues under Severus Alexander were struck by a city still centuries away from its imperial reinvention — at this point a prosperous but conventional Greek polis controlling the Bosphorus crossing and extracting tolls from Black Sea traffic. That geographic stranglehold made it wealthy enough to sustain a continuous civic coinage through the Severan dynasty without imperial subsidy.
At 3.51g, this falls toward the light end of the Æ18 range for the series, likely reflecting die wear or a late-period adjustment in flan preparation at the local mint.
Byzantium's civic bronze issues under Severus Alexander were struck by a city still centuries away from its imperial reinvention — at this point a prosperous but conventional Greek polis controlling the Bosphorus crossing and extracting tolls from Black Sea traffic. That geographic stranglehold made it wealthy enough to sustain a continuous civic coinage through the Severan dynasty without imperial subsidy.
At 3.51g, this falls toward the light end of the Æ18 range for the series, likely reflecting die wear or a late-period adjustment in flan preparation at the local mint.