Æ29 - Gordian III ΕΦΕϹΙΩΝ Α ΑϹΙΑϹ

Ephesus held the title of "first and greatest metropolis of Asia" — the Α ΑϹΙΑϹ designation on this coin is not decorative shorthand but a formally contested honorific, one the city defended aggressively against rival Smyrna and Pergamon throughout the imperial period. Under Gordian III, Ephesus was still leveraging that status to extract concessions from the imperial court, and civic bronze coinage was part of how these Greek cities performed their loyalty and negotiated their standing simultaneously.