Æ21 - Trajan Decius ΕΦΕϹΙΩΝ

Trajan Decius ruled for barely two years before dying at the Battle of Abrittus in 251 — the first Roman emperor killed in battle by a foreign enemy. His reign was marked by the first empire-wide persecution of Christians, requiring all citizens to sacrifice to the Roman gods and obtain a signed certificate of compliance. Ephesus, still one of the wealthiest cities in Asia Minor, continued issuing civic bronzes under his reign as it had for emperors before him.

The IX#629 reference places this within the standard Ephesian civic series, a prolific mint whose output across the third century remains only partially catalogued.