Æ25 - Valerian and Gallienus ΕΦΕϹΙΩΝ ΠΡΩΤΩΝ ΑϹΙΑϹ

Ephesus held the title *prōtē tēs Asias* — "first of Asia" — a designation fiercely contested among the great cities of the province and one that carried genuine administrative and ceremonial weight under Roman rule. The joint titulature of Valerian and Gallienus on provincial bronzes like this one reflects the co-emperorship established in 253 AD, a deliberate dynastic signal broadcast through civic coinage across the eastern mints. Ephesus was among the most prolific issuers of this type of honorific civic bronze during the third century.