Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Æ16 - Septimius Severus ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ
| Issuer | Nicaea (Bithynia and Pontus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 193-211 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | RPC V.2#77330 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A bull advancing to the right, depicted in full body profile with head lowered in a dynamic, naturalistic pose consistent with provincial bronze iconography of the Severan period. The animal stands on a plain ground line with a dotted border visible along the lower periphery. The ethnic legend ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ is inscribed in the field to the right of the bull, identifying the issuing city of Nicaea in Bithynia. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ (Translation: of the Nicaeans) |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Nicaea's civic bronze coinage under Septimius Severus reflects the city's calculated loyalty during a period of brutal Roman civil war. When Severus marched against his rivals Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus between 193 and 197, Bithynian cities faced real political risk in their allegiances — Nicaea, unlike neighboring Nicomedia which backed Niger, positioned itself carefully and retained its minting privileges throughout Severus's reign.
Small module civic bronzes of this type circulated at the hyperlocal level, handling transactions the imperial coinage never reached. The V.2 corpus reference places this among a densely catalogued group, but individual die matches remain useful for tracing specific mint activity within the reign.