Æ43 - Gordian III ΕΠΙ ΑΙΛ ΑΡΙϹΤΟΝΕΙΚΟΥ ΓΕΡΜΗΝΩΝ

Germe was a minor Mysian city whose coins under Gordian III almost exclusively name the local magistrate responsible for the issue — here Aelius Aristoneikos, whose title and ethnic confirm this as a civic bronze struck under the Pergamene conventus. The sheer size and weight of this piece places it among the largest denominations Germe ever produced, almost certainly minted for civic ceremonial purposes rather than everyday exchange. Provincial bronzes of this scale from small Mysian cities rarely survived in numbers, as they had limited circulation catchment areas and were frequently melted when the political incentive to honor the emperor passed.