Æ29 - Valerian and Gallienus ΕΠ ΑΥΡ ΑΙΛ ΦΟΙΒΟΥ ΙΠΠΙΚΟΥ ΑΡΧ ΙΟΥ, ΓΟΡΔΗΝΩΝ

Iulia Gordus, a small Lydian city in the conventus of Sardis, issued coins under the joint reign of Valerian I and his son Gallienus — a co-regency that began in 253 AD after Valerian's elevation following the deaths of Trebonianus Gallus and Volusianus. The magistrate named in the legend, Aurelius Aelius Phoebus, held the hippic archonship, a civic office tied to the organization of equestrian games — an unusually specific title to feature so prominently on a provincial bronze.

Gordus minted sporadically under several third-century emperors, and its output under this particular co-regency is limited.