Nicaea's civic bronze issues under Marcus Aurelius belong to a period when Bithynian cities were actively competing for imperial favor and the honorific titles that came with it — Nicaea and Nicomedia spent decades locked in a rivalry over which city held primacy in the province. The ΝΕΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ ethnic on this piece is a direct assertion of civic identity in that contest.
Nicaea's civic bronze issues under Marcus Aurelius belong to a period when Bithynian cities were actively competing for imperial favor and the honorific titles that came with it — Nicaea and Nicomedia spent decades locked in a rivalry over which city held primacy in the province. The ΝΕΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ ethnic on this piece is a direct assertion of civic identity in that contest.