Æ21 - Hadrian COL A A PATRENS

Patras held the status of a Roman colony — Colonia Auge Augusta Achaica Patrensis — established by Augustus following the Battle of Actium, when he forcibly synoikized the surrounding Achaean towns into a single loyalist settlement. Hadrian visited the city during his extensive tour of the Greek east beginning around 128 AD, and the colonial mint responded with a run of bronze issues marking his presence. Provincial bronze of this colony is sparsely documented; the RPC III reference places surviving specimens in very small numbers.