Æ29 - Valerian and Gallienus ϹΜΥΡΝΑΙΩΝ Γ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ ΕΠ Ϲ ΦΙΛΗΤΟΥ ΙΠΠΙ/ΚΟΥ

Smyrna held the title of neokoros — official guardian of an imperial cult temple — three times over, a distinction advertised aggressively on civic coinage during the joint reign of Valerian and Gallienus. The magistrate named in this inscription, Philetos, held a hippikos rank, denoting equestrian status within the provincial administrative hierarchy. Smyrna competed fiercely with Ephesus and Pergamon for such honorifics, and the triple neokorate designation was a hard-won prize tied directly to demonstrations of loyalty during the political instability of the 250s.