Æ37 - Antoninus Pius Π ΚΛ ΑΤΤΑΛΟϹ ΑΡΧΙΕΡΑΤΕΥΩΝ ΑΝΕΘΗΚΕ ΛΑΟΔΙΚΕΩΝ

The inscription names Publius Claudius Attalus as the dedicating magistrate, holding the office of archiereus — high priest of the imperial cult — which in the conventus cities of Asia Minor was among the most expensive civic positions a man could hold. Attalus would have funded games, sacrifices, and very likely the coin issue itself as part of his obligatory public expenditure. Laodicea ad Lycum sat on the road between Ephesus and Syria, and its civic coinage under Antoninus Pius reflects a city wealthy enough from its textile trade to sustain elaborate honorific programs.