Æ28 - Septimius Severus ΗΡΑΚΛΗΑϹ ΠΟΝΤΩ

Heraclea Pontica had a complicated relationship with Rome during the Severan period — the city had backed Pescennius Niger in the civil war of 193–194, and Septimius Severus's eventual victory left many eastern mints scrambling to demonstrate loyalty through coinage. Provincial bronze of this type was struck under local civic authority rather than imperial control, with the city bearing production costs and deciding volume entirely on its own fiscal calculus.

The Pontic coastal cities remained prolific producers of civic bronze well into the third century, partly because Roman imperial silver rarely penetrated local markets in sufficient quantity.