Mithridates VI struck this issue at Pergamon following his seizure of the city during the First Mithridatic War, using the mint infrastructure of what had been Rome's most loyal client kingdom in Asia Minor. The Pontic dating system places this in regnal year 208 of the Pontic era, corresponding to 89 BC — the year before his forces massacred an estimated 80,000 Roman and Italian residents across Asia Minor in a single coordinated action.
Pergamon's mint output under Mithridatic control is relatively short-lived and chronologically tight, making the regnal year designation HΣ Z a meaningful anchor for collectors working through the sequence.
Mithridates VI struck this issue at Pergamon following his seizure of the city during the First Mithridatic War, using the mint infrastructure of what had been Rome's most loyal client kingdom in Asia Minor. The Pontic dating system places this in regnal year 208 of the Pontic era, corresponding to 89 BC — the year before his forces massacred an estimated 80,000 Roman and Italian residents across Asia Minor in a single coordinated action.
Pergamon's mint output under Mithridatic control is relatively short-lived and chronologically tight, making the regnal year designation HΣ Z a meaningful anchor for collectors working through the sequence.