Æ28 - Valerian and Gallienus ΑΙΛ ΕΡΜΕΙΑϹ ΠΡΥΤ ΚΥΜΑΙΟ/ΙϹ

Cyme, one of the oldest Greek foundations on the Aeolian coast, retained its civic coinage rights well into the joint reign of Valerian and Gallienus — a period defined by near-constant military crisis, the so-called Crisis of the Third Century, during which the empire cycled through emperors at a rate that made provincial bronzes like this one politically awkward to produce. The prytanis named in the obverse legend, Aelius Hermeias, was a locally appointed magistrate whose name appears on a small cluster of issues, allowing die-linked groupings within this type.