Æ35 - Septimius Severus ϹΑΜΙΩΝ

Samos operated under the Milesian conventus — one of the judicial-administrative districts Rome used to manage the province of Asia — and continued issuing civic bronze throughout the Severan period with considerable autonomy over type selection and legend. The ϹΑΜΙΩΝ ethnic locates this firmly within that tradition of Greek-language civic coinage, where local magistrates typically bore responsibility for authorizing and sometimes funding individual issues.

Septimius Severus secured the eastern provinces early in his reign after defeating Pescennius Niger at the Battle of Issus in 194 AD, and cities across Asia Minor responded with loyalty coinage in the years immediately following.