Æ21 - Trajan ΕΠΙ Γ ΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΣΟΥ ΑΝΘΥΠΑΤΟΥ

The Koinon of Bithynia — the provincial assembly representing Bithynia and Pontus — held the rare privilege of issuing bronze coinage in its own name under Roman authority, a concession that reflected the region's administrative sophistication and its history as a voluntarily bequeathed kingdom. The proconsular name in the legend, Gaius Julius Bassus, anchors this piece to a specific moment in the province's governance, though Bassus is perhaps better remembered from Pliny the Younger's letters, which document ongoing prosecutions of provincial officials for extortion during precisely this period.