Tetrachalkon

Samosata served as the royal capital of Commagene during this period, a small but strategically vital buffer kingdom perched between Rome and Parthia. Its rulers — most notably Antiochus I Theos — cultivated a deliberate policy of cultural fusion, blending Greek, Iranian, and Anatolian traditions into a political identity that allowed the dynasty to survive by playing both empires against each other. Civic bronze issues like this tetrachalkon represent the city's own monetary activity within that framework, distinct from the royal dynastic coinage.

RPC I 3850 is a relatively scarce type in the corpus of Commagenian bronzes.