AR25 - Hadrian ΑΜΙϹΟΥ ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΑϹ ΕΤΟΥϹ ΡΞΘ

Amisus, a Greek colonial city on the Black Sea coast of Pontus, held "free city" status under Roman rule — an autonomy granted and occasionally revoked depending on the political climate in Rome. The civic era date encoded in the legend (year 169) anchors this coin to the final year of Hadrian's reign, a moment when the emperor was already gravely ill at Baiae, dying in July 138. The city's right to strike its own silver was itself a privilege, not a given.