Æ36 - Severus Alexander ΤΕΤΡΑΚΙϹ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ ΕΦΕϹΙΩΝ

Ephesus held the title of neokoros — temple warden — multiple times over the imperial period, and the boast of four such honors, broadcast on this coin's reverse legend, reflects the city's relentless campaigning before the imperial court for each successive grant. The fourth neokorate came under Elagabalus or Severus Alexander, and its advertisement in civic bronze coinage was an act of civic pride bordering on propaganda: the title carried trade prestige, festival rights, and a direct claim on pilgrimage traffic across the Aegean.

Ephesus was the largest city in Roman Asia, and its mint output under Severus Alexander was substantial — which makes condition the decisive variable within this type.