Æ26 - Marcus Aurelius ΜΕΓΑΡΕωИ

Megara's civic bronze coinage under Marcus Aurelius falls within a period when the city was a quiet backwater by imperial standards — overshadowed by Corinth to the west and Athens to the east, and long stripped of any significant political weight. What kept Megara on the map, culturally and religiously, were its ancient cults and its claim as the legendary birthplace of the Doric architectural order. Local bronze issues of this type were almost certainly produced for festival or cult use rather than broad commercial circulation, which explains why survivors tend toward either high preservation or extreme wear with little middle ground.