Æ35 - Commodus ΕΠΙ ϹΤΡΑ ΔΙΟΔΩΡΟΥ ΝΕΟ Β ΠΕΡΓΑΜΗΝΩΝ

Struck under the strategos Diodoros, whose name appears in the magistrate formula on the reverse — one of several Pergamene officials documented across bronze issues of the Commodan period. The designation NEO B (Neokoros for the second time) reflects Pergamum's hard-won status as twice-warden of the imperial cult, a civic honor granted by the Roman senate and fiercely competed for among the great cities of Asia Minor. Ephesus and Smyrna fought Pergamum bitterly over neokorate rankings throughout the second century, and these titles were stamped onto bronze precisely because the coinage circulated as civic propaganda.