Æ37 - Septimius Severus ΑΡΧ ΑΡΤΕΜΙΔΩΡΟΥ ΤΑΒΗΝΩΝ

Tabae was a minor Phrygian-border city in Caria whose civic bronze issues depended heavily on the personal initiative of local magistrates — the archon Artemidoros named in this coin's legend funded and oversaw this striking at his own civic expense, a common arrangement in Asia Minor that tied a magistrate's political reputation directly to the quality and volume of coinage he produced. The reign of Septimius Severus saw a marked surge in provincial civic bronzes across Asia Minor, partly because Severus actively courted eastern cities following his civil war victories over Pescennius Niger, whose support base had been concentrated precisely in this region.