Æ19 - Septimius Severus ΑΦΡΟΔΕΙϹΙΕΩΝ

Aphrodisias held a privileged position among cities of Caria — Rome granted it the status of a free city, exempt from provincial taxation, a distinction maintained jealously through the imperial period. The city's close identification with Venus/Aphrodite gave it particular favor under the Julio-Claudians, but civic bronze production continued robustly well into the Severan dynasty. This piece falls within a city mint that was unusually prolific for its size, producing a wide range of denominations under Septimius Severus as the new dynasty worked to consolidate legitimacy across the Greek East.