PHRYGIA. Laodicea ad Lycum. Pseudo-autonomous (Time of Domitian, 81-96 AD).

This is a fascinating "pseudo-autonomous" piece, meaning it was struck during the Roman Imperial period (time of Domitian) but lacks the Emperor’s portrait, highlighting the local civic identity of Laodicea ad Lycum. A handsome and historically appealing bronze from Laodicea ad Lycum, struck during the Flavian period under the magistrate Kornelios Dioskourides

Title: The Wreath of Laodicea

Main Characters

Dioskourides — A principled magistrate of Laodicea ad Lycum, known for his fairness but caught between Roman authority and local Phrygian traditions.

Roma — Not merely a symbol on the coin, but a living avatar of Roman order who appears in visions to guide (or warn) Dioskourides.

Nike — A winged messenger who moves between the mortal and divine realms, carrying news of victories—and impending disasters.

Alyna — A young scribe who uncovers a conspiracy threatening the city’s sacred senate.

Plot Concept

When a mysterious bronze coin is struck under Dioskourides’ magistracy, strange omens begin to appear in Laodicea. Roma’s helmeted visage seems to whisper warnings in dreams, while Nike appears to Alyna with a wreath that crumbles into dust.

The city’s Sacred Senate is being manipulated by a shadowy faction seeking to overthrow Roman influence and restore an ancient Phrygian cult. As political tensions rise, earthquakes rumble beneath the Lycus valley—signs of the slumbering god beneath the earth.

Dioskourides and Alyna must decipher the meaning of the coin’s imagery before the city collapses—literally and politically. The coin becomes a key to understanding which victories are worth winning, and which are illusions.

Repatinated and the obverse struck slightly off center, otherwise, good very fine.