Æ21 - Macrinus ΕΦΕϹΙΩΝ ΗΡΑΚΛΕΙΤΟϹ

Heraclitus of Ephesus — the pre-Socratic philosopher famous for his doctrine of perpetual flux and the obscurity of his surviving fragments — was a source of considerable civic pride for Ephesus well into the imperial period. This bronze was struck under Macrinus, the Praetorian prefect who had Caracalla assassinated in 217 and ruled for barely fourteen months before being defeated by Elagabalus's forces at Antioch. Provincial mints frequently used such brief reigns to assert local identity, and the magistrate name ΗΡΑΚΛΕΙΤΟϹ in the legend ties the issue directly to a named Ephesian official responsible for the coinage.