Æ24 - Valerian and Gallienus ΤΑΒΗΝΩΝ, ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑ, ΠΥ/ΘΙΑ

Tabae was a minor Carian city of middling importance, but its civic coinage under the joint reign of Valerian I and Gallienus reflects the broader explosion of provincial bronze production that occurred when the Roman silver coinage collapsed in credibility during the 250s. The city's simultaneous invocation of both the Olympian and Pythian games on a single issue suggests a civic strategy of prestige-stacking — associating Tabae with the two most prestigious Panhellenic festivals despite the city having no serious historical claim to either.

Valerian was captured by Shapur I of Persia in 260 AD, the only Roman emperor taken prisoner in battle, which terminated this joint-reign coinage abruptly.