Æ30 - Valerian and Gallienus ΕΠΙ ΓΡ Π ΚΛ ΜΕΝΙΠΠΟΥ ΚΕΝ ΤΡΑΛΛΙΑΝΩΝ

Tralles, a prosperous city in the Maeander valley, enjoyed considerable autonomy in its civic coinage under the Roman provincial system. The magistrate named in this issue — Π. Κλ. Μένιππος — held the office of grammateus, the civic secretary responsible for overseeing local coin production, a position that carried enough prestige to warrant permanent inscription on the die. The joint reign of Valerian and Gallienus (253–260) was administratively turbulent: Valerian campaigned in the east against Shapur I, who ultimately captured him at the Battle of Edessa in 260 — the only Roman emperor taken prisoner by a foreign enemy.