Æ23 - Hadrian ΑΠΕΛΛΑϹ ΑΘΗΝΑΓΟΡΟΥ ΑΝΕΘΗΚΕ

Hydrela was a minor Phrygian city of little strategic importance, and its coinage under Hadrian reflects the intensely local character of Greek civic bronzes in this period. The inscription naming Apellas son of Athenagoras as the dedicating magistrate places this coin within a tradition of civic euergetism — local elites funding or administering coin issues as acts of public benefaction, their names immortalized in bronze at their own expense.

Hadrian's philhellenic program actively encouraged civic identity across Anatolia, and many smaller Phrygian cities struck coins for the first time or resumed dormant minting during his reign precisely because of that atmosphere.