Odessus, on the Black Sea coast of Moesia Inferior — modern Varna in Bulgaria — maintained an active civic mint through most of the third century, striking bronze for local circulation long after many neighboring cities had abandoned the practice. The Ε on this piece almost certainly functions as a denomination mark within a locally administered tariff system, though the precise valuation hierarchy it implies remains debated among specialists.
Odessus, on the Black Sea coast of Moesia Inferior — modern Varna in Bulgaria — maintained an active civic mint through most of the third century, striking bronze for local circulation long after many neighboring cities had abandoned the practice. The Ε on this piece almost certainly functions as a denomination mark within a locally administered tariff system, though the precise valuation hierarchy it implies remains debated among specialists.