Æ42 - Caracalla ΕΠΙ ϹΤΡ Μ ΚΑΙΡΕΛ ΑΤΤΑΛΟΥ, ΠΕΡΓΑΜΗΝΩΝ, ΠΡΩΤΩΝ Γ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ

Pergamum's claim to "first and thrice neokoros" — the triple temple-warden title encoded in this coin's legend — was the product of decades of political maneuvering with Rome. The city had held imperial cult status since Augustus, but the third neokorate, awarded under Elagabalus, was contested territory. Caracalla's reign saw Pergamum aggressively advertising its cultic seniority over rival Smyrna and Ephesus, and large civic bronzes of this module were the medium of choice for that municipal self-promotion.

The strategos named in the obverse legend, M. Kairel Attalos, anchors the issue administratively to a specific magistracy cycle.