Æ30 - Trajan ΙΕΡΑΠΟΛΕΙΤΩΝ

Hierapolis in Phrygia — not to be confused with the better-known Syrian city of the same name — sat astride major trade routes connecting the Aegean coast to the interior of Anatolia, and its civic coinage under Trajan reflects a city flush with commercial confidence. The conventus of Cibyra, to which Hierapolis was administratively subordinate for Roman judicial purposes, grouped several prosperous Phrygian communities under a single assize circuit, and membership in that circuit carried real prestige.

Provincial bronze of this module from the Trajanic period frequently shows die-axis inconsistency, a product of workshop practices rather than official negligence.