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Æ22 - Septimius Severus ϹΜΥΡΝΑΙΩΝ
| Issuer | City of Smyrna (Ionia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 193-211 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 22 mm |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | The Greek civic ethnic ϹΜΥΡΝΑΙΩΝ is inscribed in three or four lines within a laurel wreath, the wreath tied at the base with a ribbon or band. The wreath is rendered with careful detail, its leaves arranged symmetrically around the central inscription field. This type is typical of Smyrnaean civic bronzes issued under the Severan dynasty, asserting the city's proud claim as the birthplace of Homer. |
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| Additional information |
Smyrna was among the most competitive cities in the Roman province of Asia when it came to imperial honorifics, routinely petitioning Rome for titles like "first city" and "thrice neokoros" — designations that required demonstrable loyalty, expressed in part through civic coinage. Issues under Septimius Severus coincide with the city's aggressive pursuit of neokorate status, the right to maintain an imperial cult temple, which carried enormous prestige in inter-city rivalries with Ephesus and Pergamon.
The reference V.2#28099 places this within von Aulock's *Münzen und Städte Lydiens*, a corpus that remains the primary tool for attributing Smyrnaean bronzes of this period.