Nicaea's civic bronze coinage under Septimius Severus belongs to a period when the city was quietly consolidating its position against its perpetual rival Nicomedia — a competition for provincial prestige that played out partly through the volume and quality of locally issued coin. The ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ ethnic on these pieces is the city's claim staked in bronze.
Nicaea's civic bronze coinage under Septimius Severus belongs to a period when the city was quietly consolidating its position against its perpetual rival Nicomedia — a competition for provincial prestige that played out partly through the volume and quality of locally issued coin. The ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ ethnic on these pieces is the city's claim staked in bronze.