Æ28 - Gallienus (sole reign) (C G I H P (retrograde)

Parium, the old Milesian colony on the Propontis, maintained active bronze production well into the third century despite the empire fracturing around it. The retrograde legend on this piece — a simple copying error left uncorrected — points to a provincial die-cutter working without close oversight, a condition increasingly common after 260 AD when Gallienus's sole reign began following Valerian's capture by Shapur I at the Battle of Edessa. No emperor before or since was taken prisoner by a foreign power while reigning.