Æ22 - Elagabalus ϹΑΜΙΩΝ

Samos sat comfortably within the Milesian conventus, the administrative district through which Roman judicial and civic authority filtered down to Aegean island communities. Local bronze coinage of this kind was struck on civic initiative rather than imperial decree — the city essentially petitioned for the right to produce it, often tied to specific festivals, imperial visits, or benefactions. Elagabalus received unusually enthusiastic civic honors across the Greek East early in his reign, before the more scandalous reports from Rome had time to curdle local opinion.