Bagis was a minor Lydian city of modest standing, and its civic bronze issues under Marcus Aurelius represent some of the last coinage struck there before the city fades almost entirely from the numismatic record. The magistrate name partially preserved in the legend — Apollod[oros] or similar — was a local official whose appointment to oversee the mint was a civic honor, not an imperial one. Roman provincial cities in Asia Minor funded and administered their own bronze coinage independently, with Rome's only contribution being the emperor's portrait and titulature.
Bagis was a minor Lydian city of modest standing, and its civic bronze issues under Marcus Aurelius represent some of the last coinage struck there before the city fades almost entirely from the numismatic record. The magistrate name partially preserved in the legend — Apollod[oros] or similar — was a local official whose appointment to oversee the mint was a civic honor, not an imperial one. Roman provincial cities in Asia Minor funded and administered their own bronze coinage independently, with Rome's only contribution being the emperor's portrait and titulature.