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Æ37 - Gordian III ΦΛ ΦΙΛΑ ΝΕΩΚ ΚΑΙ ΖΜΥΡ Γ ΝΕΩΚ ΟΜΟΝ ΕΠΙ ΑΥΡ ΜΑΡΚΟΥ ΑΡΧ Α Τ Β
| Issuer | Philadelphia (Conventus of Sardis) |
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| Year | 238-244 |
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| Reference(s) | RPC VII.1#268.1 |
| Obverse description | Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Emperor Gordian III facing right, depicted from the rear in the characteristic provincial three-quarter rear-view presentation. The imperial effigy is rendered in typical mid-third century provincial style, with the laureate wreath clearly distinguishable atop the head. The circular Greek legend runs around the periphery of the flan. The overall style is consistent with the civic bronze coinage of Philadelphia in Lydia under the conventus of Sardis. |
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| Reverse description | The cult statue of Artemis Ephesia stands facing in the center, rendered in the canonical xoanon-like pose with arms extended and multiple rows of pendants adorning the torso, flanked on either side by a stag. To the left and right of the central figure stand two representations of Nemesis of Smyrna, each depicted in their customary iconographic form. The composition celebrates the homonoia (concord) between the neocorate city of Philadelphia and the thrice-neocorate city of Smyrna. The multi-line Greek legend occupies the fields and exergue, referencing the presiding archon Aurelius Marcus. |
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The legend ΦΛ ΦΙΛΑ ΝΕΩΚ ΚΑΙ ΖΜΥΡ Γ ΝΕΩΚ ΟΜΟΝ records a formal concord between Philadelphia and Smyrna — a homonoia issue, minted to commemorate or reinforce civic alliance between the two cities. Such issues were a deliberate political instrument in the eastern provinces, where rival cities competed fiercely for imperial favor, temple titles, and neokorate status. Smyrna held three nekokorates by this period; Philadelphia's claim to one was a point of civic pride worth advertising in bronze.
The magistrate Aurelius Markos named in the inscription anchors this piece administratively, though his tenure remains otherwise poorly documented.