Æ27 - Valerian and Gallienus ΑΡΤΕΜΙϹ ΕΦΕϹΙΑ

Ephesus struck coins jointly in the names of Valerian and Gallienus during the years 253–260, a period when the imperial college — father and son ruling simultaneously — gave provincial mints a rare opportunity to flatter two emperors at once. The city had long leveraged its status as seat of the Conventus of Ephesus and capital of the Asian province to produce some of the most ambitious civic bronzes in the eastern empire. Artemis of Ephesus was the city's most politically potent asset, and her cult image appeared on local coinage with a frequency that underscores how deliberately the city managed its religious brand.