Æ24 - Marcus Aurelius ΙΛΙΕΩΝ

Ilium — the city built over, or at least aggressively claiming to be built over, the ruins of Troy — minted civic bronzes that traded heavily on that association throughout the imperial period. By the time of Marcus Aurelius, the city had leveraged its Trojan identity for centuries of Roman favor, since Rome's own foundation myth ran through Aeneas and therefore through Ilium itself. The city held privileged status under multiple emperors on precisely that basis.

This piece dates to 179–180, the final year of Marcus Aurelius's reign, issued while he was campaigning along the Danube frontier against the Marcomanni.