Æ28 - Gallienus (sole reign) (ΑΦΡΟΔΕΙϹΙΕΩΝ)

Aphrodisias enjoyed an unusually privileged relationship with Rome — the city held the rare status of a free city exempt from provincial taxation, a position it guarded jealously through centuries of careful diplomacy. Local bronze issues like this one circulated within that semi-autonomous framework, produced by civic authorities rather than imperial mandate. Gallienus's sole reign, following the capture of his father Valerian by Shapur I in 260 AD, left provincial mints and civic issues filling gaps as the central coinage system buckled under near-continuous military crisis.