Cistophorus - Nerva COS III, Diana of Perge

Cistophori were struck exclusively at Asian mints — almost certainly Pergamum in this case — continuing a tradition of oversized silver coinage that Rome had exploited as a regional currency instrument in the province of Asia since the mid-second century BC. Nerva's third consulship fell in 97–98 AD, the final months of his reign, meaning this piece was struck in the brief window before Trajan's accession in January 98.

The Diana of Perge type signals deliberate engagement with local Anatolian religious identity. Perge's cult of Artemis/Diana was among the most politically significant in the region, and its invocation on an imperial cistophorus was a calculated gesture toward provincial elites whose cooperation Rome consistently needed.