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Æ18 - Marcus Aurelius Ν(Ε)ΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ
| Issuer | Nicaea (Bithynia and Pontus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 161-180 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 18 mm |
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| Reverse description | The sacred Apis bull, symbol of Egyptian religious syncretism, depicted standing to the right in profile. The animal wears the distinctive uraeus headdress on its head, reflecting the blending of Egyptian and Greek religious traditions common in provincial Asia Minor coinage. The Greek civic legend is inscribed across the upper field above the bull's back. The flan is irregular, characteristic of hammered provincial bronze coinage. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Nicaea's civic bronze issues under Marcus Aurelius reflect the city's intense rivalry with neighboring Nicomedia over which held the title of "first city" of Bithynia — a dispute prosecuted not with armies but with honorific titles stamped on coinage. The spelling variation between ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ and ΝΕΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ across this series is not scribal error; it reflects genuine epigraphic fluctuation attested in Bithynian civic inscriptions of the second century.