Æ23 - Marcus Aurelius ΕΠΙ ϹΤΡΑ ΠΩΛΛ ΠΕΡΓΑ ΝΕΟΚ Β

Pergamum's second neokorate status — the "ΝΕΟΚ Β" in the legend — was granted by Rome as formal recognition of the city's role as an imperial cult center, a privilege fiercely competed for among the great cities of Asia Minor. Pergamum had held its first neokorate since the reign of Augustus, making this second grant under Marcus Aurelius a reaffirmation of civic prestige at a moment when the emperor was largely absent from Rome, occupied with the Marcomannic Wars on the Danube frontier.