Æ25 - Gordian III COL IVL AVG PELLA

Pella's colonial coinage under Gordian III belongs to a civic minting tradition that was already running on borrowed time. By the mid-third century, the western Macedonian provincial bronzes were being progressively squeezed out as Rome's monetary crises pushed military coinage priorities to the fore. Pella itself traded heavily on its Macedonian prestige — the birthplace of Alexander — as justification for continued colonial issue rights.

The COL IVL AVG title traces to Julius Caesar's refoundation of the city as a Roman colony, likely around 42 BC following Philippi.