Alexandria Troas, a Roman colony situated on the northwest Anatolian coast, enjoyed the rare privilege of striking colonial bronze coinage under its own authority rather than through a provincial mint. Commodus appears on its issues almost immediately after his sole reign began in 180 AD, following the death of Marcus Aurelius. The city had long leveraged its Trojan mythological heritage for civic prestige, and its colonial status — granted generations earlier — gave it the legal standing to produce this kind of autonomous civic bronze.
The abbreviation COL AVG TROAD in the legend reflects the city's formal title as Colonia Augusta Troadensis.
Alexandria Troas, a Roman colony situated on the northwest Anatolian coast, enjoyed the rare privilege of striking colonial bronze coinage under its own authority rather than through a provincial mint. Commodus appears on its issues almost immediately after his sole reign began in 180 AD, following the death of Marcus Aurelius. The city had long leveraged its Trojan mythological heritage for civic prestige, and its colonial status — granted generations earlier — gave it the legal standing to produce this kind of autonomous civic bronze.
The abbreviation COL AVG TROAD in the legend reflects the city's formal title as Colonia Augusta Troadensis.