Æ34 - Valerian and Gallienus ΤΡΑΛΛΙΑΝΩΝ ΠΡΩΤΩΝ ΕΛΛΑΔΟϹ / ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑ / ΠΥΘΙΑ

Tralles secured the title ΠΡΩΤΩΝ ΕΛΛΑΔΟϹ — "first of Greece" — through a competitive civic honorific system in which Asian cities lobbied Rome aggressively for prestige rankings. The coin's simultaneous invocation of both Olympian and Pythian games reflects Tralles' claim to neokorate status and its ambition to position itself among the great agonistic centers of the province. These joint-reign provincial bronzes were struck during the co-emperorship of Valerian and Gallienus, a window that closed sharply in 260 when Valerian was captured by Shapur I at Edessa — the only Roman emperor ever taken prisoner in battle.