Æ23 - Caracalla ΗΡΑΚΛΗΑϹ ΕΝ ΠΟΝΤΩ

Heraclea Pontica had a long history of stubborn civic independence — it was one of the last Black Sea Greek cities to submit fully to Roman provincial authority, and its coins continued advertising that identity well into the Severan period. The ethnic legend ΗΡΑΚΛΗΑϹ ΕΝ ΠΟΝΤΩ, stressing location within Pontus rather than simple city identity, reflects a civic administration still insisting on geographic distinction within an increasingly homogenized provincial structure.