Pergamum held the title of neokoros — official guardian of an imperial cult temple — three times over, a distinction it fought hard to protect against rival cities like Smyrna and Ephesus. The magistrate named in this issue's legend, Claudius Glycon Rufeinianus, held the rank of hippikos, a Roman equestrian, marking him as one of the Romanized provincial elite who administered the conventus on Rome's behalf. Gordian III's reign saw a surge in civic bronze production across Asia Minor, partly because the emperor's youth and the political instability of his accession created strong local incentives to demonstrate loyalty through conspicuous coinage.
Pergamum held the title of neokoros — official guardian of an imperial cult temple — three times over, a distinction it fought hard to protect against rival cities like Smyrna and Ephesus. The magistrate named in this issue's legend, Claudius Glycon Rufeinianus, held the rank of hippikos, a Roman equestrian, marking him as one of the Romanized provincial elite who administered the conventus on Rome's behalf. Gordian III's reign saw a surge in civic bronze production across Asia Minor, partly because the emperor's youth and the political instability of his accession created strong local incentives to demonstrate loyalty through conspicuous coinage.