Æ27 - Valerian and Gallienus COL IV CONC AVG APAM, D D

Apamea in Bithynia held the status of a Roman colony, and this joint issue for Valerian and Gallienus — father and son ruling as co-emperors from 253 — reflects the city's pride in that colonial standing, spelled out in the legend's reference to the *colonia*. The abbreviation D D indicates the coin was issued *decreto decurionum*, by vote of the local senate, a reminder that civic bronze remained a genuinely municipal product even under imperial co-rule.

The reign ended in catastrophe: Valerian was captured by Shapur I at the Battle of Edessa in 260, the only Roman emperor ever taken prisoner by a foreign enemy. Provincial mints throughout Bithynia largely ceased civic bronze production shortly after.