Æ22 - Antoninus Pius ΑϹΚΑΛω Ϲ

Ascalon — modern Ashkelon — was among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the ancient world and held the rare distinction of being a free city under Roman administration, exempted from provincial taxation. That autonomy is why its civic bronze coinage persists across so many imperial reigns: the city was minting on its own authority, not simply responding to Roman administrative demands. The local era used in Ascalon's dating system traces back to 104 BC, making chronological attribution of these bronzes an exercise in calendar conversion rather than straightforward regnal dating.