Æ19 - Augustus ΤΡΥΦΩΝ ΕΦΕ ΣΑΜΙΑΔΗΣ

Trypho and Samiades served as the magistrates responsible for this issue — a pair of local officials whose names appear on the coinage as a form of civic accountability common in Ionian municipal minting under the early Principate. Ephesus at this moment was the largest city in Roman Asia, its mint operating with considerable autonomy despite the province sitting squarely under imperial supervision. RPC I 2624 is not a common type, and examples in decent condition turn up infrequently given the modest module and the rough treatment bronze civic coinage typically received in active port-city commerce.