Æ39 - Hadrian ΠΟΛΕΜΩΝ ΑΝΕΘΗΚΕ ϹΜΥΡΝΑΙΟΙϹ

The inscription ΠΟΛΕΜΩΝ ΑΝΕΘΗΚΕ ϹΜΥΡΝΑΙΟΙϹ — "Polemon dedicated [this] to the Smyrnaeans" — identifies the benefactor as Antonius Polemon, the celebrated sophist and rhetor who was one of the most politically connected figures of the Second Sophistic. Polemon had cultivated a personal relationship with Hadrian over years of imperial visits to the Greek East, and Smyrna itself benefited materially from that connection, receiving funds for rebuilding after Hadrian's patronage was secured partly through Polemon's influence.

The coin is effectively a dedication monument in bronze. Polemon died around 135 AD, making this issue almost certainly contemporary with the final period of his activity in Smyrna.