Æ25 - Valerian and Gallienus ΚΙΑΝΩΝ

Cius, the Bithynian coastal city at the mouth of the Cius river, issued bronze coinage under the co-reign of Valerian I and his son Gallienus — a pairing forced by political necessity after Valerian elevated Gallienus to Augustus in 253 to stabilize an empire fracturing on multiple frontiers simultaneously. Provincial bronzes of this joint reign are among the more chronologically compressed civic issues; Valerian's capture by the Sasanian king Shapur I at the Battle of Edessa in 260 effectively ended the co-reign, collapsing the remaining window to just seven years.