Æ35 - Marcus Aurelius ΚΩΙΩΝ

Cos operated under the Conventus of Halicarnassus, one of the judicial districts Rome imposed on the province of Asia — a regional administrative structure that paradoxically gave island communities like Cos a degree of civic prestige by associating them with a major mainland center. Bronze issues of this size and weight from Cos during the 160s reflect the island's sustained prosperity, tied in no small part to its reputation as the birthplace of Hippocrates and a functioning center of medical education that attracted students and revenue throughout the imperial period.