Æ28 - Gallienus (sole reign) (ΕФΕϹΙΩΝ Δ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ)

Ephesus held the title of neokoros — temple warden — four times by the reign of Gallienus, a distinction fiercely contested among the great cities of Asia Minor and awarded by the Roman Senate. The tetrakis neokoros status advertised on this coin reflects that fourth wardenship, likely of the imperial cult, accumulated across generations of civic rivalry with Smyrna and Pergamon. Such titles were not merely honorific; they drove real economic competition, as the festivals and pilgrims attached to each temple wardenship generated substantial revenue for the host city.

Sole reign issues of Gallienus from eastern mints become particularly concentrated after 260, following his father Valerian's capture by Shapur I at Edessa.