Æ23 - Philip I ΚΟΤΙΑΕΩΝ

Cotiaeum, modern Kütahya in western Turkey, sat on a major road junction in Phrygia and minted prolifically under the Severans and their successors. Philip I came to power in 244 after negotiating — or engineering, sources disagree — the death of Gordian III on campaign against Persia. Provincial bronze issues like this one flooded the eastern mints during his reign, partly because the central Roman coinage was deteriorating so badly in silver content that local bronze became a practical necessity for small transactions.