Catalog
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| Issuer | Nicaea (Bithynia and Pontus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 193-211 |
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| Composition | Bronze |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | Asclepius, the god of medicine, standing facing with head turned to the left, his weight resting upon a tall knotted staff entwined by a serpent, the god's canonical attribute. The figure is depicted in a long chiton, rendered in the restrained provincial style of Bithynian civic bronzes. The ethnic legend ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ is inscribed in the field, identifying the issuing city of Nicaea. |
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| Additional information |
Nicaea was one of the most aggressively prolific civic minting authorities in Bithynia under the Severan dynasty, producing bronze issues across virtually the entire reign to assert municipal prestige during a period when provincial cities competed fiercely for imperial favor. Septimius Severus had particular reason to cultivate Bithynian loyalty — the region sat astride critical supply lines to the eastern frontier where he campaigned repeatedly against Parthia.
The ethnic ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ identifies the issuing city unambiguously, a convention that doubled as civic pride and administrative clarity across a province saturated with competing local bronzes.