Æ18 - Septimius Severus ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ

Nicaea was among the most politically active minting cities in Bithynia during the Severan period, issuing bronze coinage aggressively throughout Septimius Severus's reign — partly as civic display, partly as practical necessity in a province where imperial bronze rarely penetrated in sufficient quantity. The city had long competed with Nicomedia for regional prestige, and local coin production was one arena where that rivalry played out in bronze.