Æ21 - Valerian and Gallienus ΚΥΜΑΙΩΝ

Cyme's civic bronze issues under the joint reign of Valerian and Gallienus belong to a period when the Greek cities of the Aeolian coast were navigating extraordinary pressure — Persian invasions under Shapur I, plague, and a Roman imperial administration stretched past its limits. Provincial mints like Cyme operated under the authority of the Conventus of Smyrna, issuing coins that functioned as much as local civic statements as practical currency. Output was uneven, and survival rates for small bronzes from this conventus are low.