Æ19 - Septimius Severus ΗΡΑΚΛΗΑϹ ΕΝ ΠΟΝΤΩ

Heraclea Pontica had a complicated relationship with Rome throughout the imperial period — the city had been sacked by Cotta in 70 BC during the Mithridatic Wars and never quite recovered its earlier wealth. Under Severus, provincial bronze like this circulated within a tightly regional economy, filling gaps left by inconsistent imperial supply. The city retained the right to strike its own coinage sporadically through the Severan dynasty, one of the few Pontic mints still doing so by this period.