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Æ31 - Hadrian ΜΑΓΝΗΤΩΝ ΛΗΤΩ
| Issuer | Magnesia ad Maeandrum (Conventus of Miletus) |
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| Year | 117-138 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 20.96 g |
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| Obverse description | Bare laureate head of the emperor Hadrian facing right, rendered in the naturalistic Hadrianic portrait style with finely modelled facial features. The bust is draped and presented in right profile. The surrounding Greek imperial titulature legend runs along the periphery of the flan. The flan shows signs of irregular striking with some areas of weakness, consistent with provincial bronze coinage of the period. |
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| Obverse lettering | ΑΥ ΚΑΙ ΤΡΑ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟϹ ϹΕ (Translation: Emperor Caesar Trajan Hadrian Augustus) |
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| Additional information |
Magnesia ad Maeandrum staked its civic identity heavily on the myth of Leto, claiming the goddess gave birth to Apollo and Artemis on their territory — a claim disputed by Delos and several other cities across the Greek world. The city exploited this mythology aggressively in its coinage under Hadrian, an emperor known to actively encourage provincial civic cults, particularly those tied to Apollo, whose patronage he personally cultivated throughout his reign.
The Conventus of Miletus administered a dense cluster of competing poleis, each angling for imperial favor through religious distinction. Magnesia's insistence on the Leto nativity myth was partly a jurisdictional argument.