Æ17 - Marcus Aurelius ΚΥΖΙΚΗΝΩΝ

Cyzicus was one of the most commercially active cities on the Propontis, and its civic bronze coinage under Marcus Aurelius reflects a period when the emperor was almost perpetually absent from Rome — occupied first with the Parthian War through 166 and then, from 168 onward, commanding operations against the Marcomanni and Quadi along the Danube frontier. Local civic issues like this one filled everyday transactional needs that the imperial mint had neither the mandate nor the interest to address at small denominations.

The city had long maintained a privileged relationship with Rome, retaining considerable autonomy in its local bronze issues well into the Antonine period.