Æ36 - Marcus Aurelius

Pergamum's civic bronze issues of this period were produced with unusual ambition — the city held the prestigious title of "twice neokoros," meaning it had been granted the right to maintain two imperial cult temples, a status it competed for fiercely against Smyrna and Ephesus. Large module bronzes like this one were part of that civic posturing, circulated as much for prestige as for commerce.

The date range coincides with the Antonine Plague, which reached its peak devastation in 166–170 AD and hit the densely populated cities of Asia Minor hard. Galen himself was practicing in Pergamum when the epidemic first arrived.