Æ21 - Antoninus Pius ΑΒΩΝΟΤΕΙΧ

Abonoteichos was the home town of Alexander of Abonoteichus, the self-proclaimed oracle-prophet who founded the cult of Glycon — a snake deity he claimed was a new incarnation of Asclepius — sometime around 150 AD. Lucian of Samosata wrote a devastating exposé of Alexander, accusing him of fraud, puppetry, and political manipulation, including cultivating influence with Marcus Aurelius's father-in-law. The cult drew pilgrims from across the Greek-speaking world during precisely the reign this coin represents.

The town was reportedly renamed Ionopolis at Alexander's own instigation, a remarkable instance of a private religious operator reshaping civic identity under imperial rule.