Stater - Sauromates II Marcus Aurelius

Sauromates II ruled the Bosporan Kingdom as a client king under Roman suzerainty, and his coinage reflects that dependency with unusual directness. The gold staters of his reign bear both his own image and that of the reigning Roman emperor — a dual-portrait convention specific to the Bosporan series that signals political subordination more plainly than almost any other coinage in the ancient world.

The 176 AD issue corresponds to Marcus Aurelius during the Marcomannic Wars, when Roman attention was fixed on the Danubian frontier. Bosporan loyalty to Rome during this period was rewarded with continued access to Roman gold, which supplied the bullion for these staters.