Æ20 - Trajan Decius ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΕΙΤΩΝ ΦΡ

Metropolis was a minor Phrygian city whose coins survive in small numbers precisely because it was minor — limited civic resources meant limited striking. Trajan Decius, who seized power after Philippus Arabs died at Verona in 249, was the first emperor to launch a systematic persecution of Christians, demanding empire-wide sacrifice certificates. Provincial bronzes from his reign are accordingly compressed into a window of under three years before his death at Abrittus in 251, the first Roman emperor killed in battle by a foreign enemy.