The iconography and inscriptions of the provincial coins are full of wider interest:
This is the period when for the first time the coinage displayed a marked interest by the Greeks in their past, real or imagined, which is so forceful a feature of the literature of the period.
The extent to which coinage was used to define and display identity is also of considerable significance. The inscriptions on the coinage include imperial names and titles, the names of imperial officials and members of the local elites, and the magistracies they held.
The coins are a vital source for relationships between cities, both of rivalry and of ‘alliances’.
The iconography is immensely rich for topics ranging from mythology and religion to the presentation of the emperor.
The provincial coinage is also a vital source for the study of monetization in the Roman world.