Æ31 - Severus Alexander ΜΗ ΚΟ ΕΔΕϹϹΗΝωΝ

Edessa occupied a peculiar position in the Roman imperial system — nominally absorbed into the province of Mesopotamia under Caracalla in 214 AD, yet permitted to retain its own civic coinage and a residual local identity rooted in the Abgarid dynasty that had ruled there for centuries. The legend ΜΗ ΚΟ, read as abbreviation for μητρόπολις κολωνία, reflects the dual honorific status the city had accumulated, a combination rare enough that its appearance on bronzes from this mint is itself a point of interest to specialists in eastern provincial issues.