Æ26 - Marcus Aurelius ΑΦΡΟΔΕΙϹΙΕΩΝ

Aphrodisias held a privileged position in the Roman province of Asia — the city received grants of freedom and tax immunity from both Julius Caesar and Augustus, and maintained a closer diplomatic relationship with Rome than almost any other Greek city in the east. Coin production there was sporadic rather than systematic, tied closely to civic occasions and imperial visits rather than continuous municipal need. This issue dates to the final years of Marcus Aurelius's reign, after the devastating Antonine Plague had already killed tens of millions across the empire.