Æ27 - Valerian and Gallienus ϹΕΒΑϹΤΑ ΚΑΙϹΑΡΕΑ / ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΕΙΤΩΝ

Metropolis in Ionia was a minor city that punched above its weight in civic coinage during the joint reign of Valerian I and Gallienus — a period when provincial mints across Asia Minor issued prolifically, partly because the central Roman administration was too consumed by military crisis to suppress local monetary ambition. The city held the title of metropolis within the Ephesian conventus, and the civic pride embedded in that status drove a surprisingly varied bronze output under this reign.

Valerian was captured by the Sasanian king Shapur I at the Battle of Edessa in 260 AD, ending this issue type's window abruptly.