Æ29 - Caracalla ΕΠΙ Γ ΚΛ ΜΙΘΡΟΥ ΑΡΧ Α, ϹΑΡΔΙΑΝΩΝ Β ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ, ΧΡΥϹΑΝΘΙΝΑ (on basis)

The ΧΡΥϹΑΝΘΙΝΑ inscription on the base identifies this coin as an agonistic issue — struck to commemorate the Chrysanthina festival held at Sardis, a religious games event associated with the imperial cult. Sardis had secured its second neokorate, the honorific title marking the city as an official keeper of an imperial temple, and coins advertising that status were deliberately produced for prestige rather than commerce. The archon Gaius Claudius Mithres, named in the obverse legend, is attested across several Sardian bronze issues of this period, allowing the type to be loosely sequenced within the reign.