Æ25 - Marcus Aurelius COL A A PATR

Patras held the distinction of being a Roman colony — Colonia Aroe Augusta Patrensis — established by Augustus after the Battle of Actium, when he resettled veterans there and stripped surrounding communities of their populations to fill it. That colonial status, reflected in the COL A A PATR legend, gave the city the right to produce its own bronze coinage, a privilege that distinguished it sharply from most Greek civic mints operating under Roman rule. Issues under Marcus Aurelius from this mint are relatively scarce; the colonial series at Patras was not prolific, and production appears to have wound down before the end of the 2nd century.