Æ32 - Gallienus ΠΡΩΤΑ ΠΑΜΦΥΛΩΝ ϹΙΔΗΤΩΝ

Side's claim to primacy among Pamphylian cities — broadcast on its coinage through the legend ΠΡΩΤΑ ΠΑΜΦΥΛΩΝ — was a fiercely contested honorific during the imperial period, disputed most aggressively by Perge. The designation carried real administrative and religious weight, determining which city hosted the provincial cult and presided over regional festivals. That Side was still minting bronze at this scale during Gallienus's reign is itself notable: the catastrophic third-century silver debasement had effectively killed civic bronze production across much of the East by the 260s, but several Pamphylian cities held out longer than most.