Pergamum held the title of neokoros — formal temple warden of the imperial cult — twice over by this point, a distinction that required direct imperial approval and brought substantial prestige and economic traffic to the city. The inscription advertising this double neokorate was not incidental; Pergamum was in active competition with Smyrna and Ephesus for primacy within the Conventus, and the title was leveraged aggressively in civic coinage. The strategos Glyconianus named in the legend was the sitting magistrate responsible for authorizing the issue, a standard practice in Asian civic bronzes that occasionally helps historians sequence otherwise undated emissions.
At 43mm, this is a medallion-weight piece, almost certainly produced for presentation rather than circulation.
Pergamum held the title of neokoros — formal temple warden of the imperial cult — twice over by this point, a distinction that required direct imperial approval and brought substantial prestige and economic traffic to the city. The inscription advertising this double neokorate was not incidental; Pergamum was in active competition with Smyrna and Ephesus for primacy within the Conventus, and the title was leveraged aggressively in civic coinage. The strategos Glyconianus named in the legend was the sitting magistrate responsible for authorizing the issue, a standard practice in Asian civic bronzes that occasionally helps historians sequence otherwise undated emissions.
At 43mm, this is a medallion-weight piece, almost certainly produced for presentation rather than circulation.