Æ20 - Valerian and Gallienus ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΕΙΤΩΝ

Metropolis of Ionia was a minor civic mint operating under the Conventus of Ephesus, and its output during the co-reign of Valerian and Gallienus was modest — small bronzes produced for local exchange rather than regional distribution. The city struck coins in this period partly to assert civic identity at a moment when the Roman imperial system was fracturing badly: Valerian was captured by Shapur I of Persia in 260 AD, the only Roman emperor ever taken prisoner in battle, effectively ending the co-reign that defines this issue's upper date.