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Æ21 - Severus Alexander ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ
| Issuer | Nicaea (Bithynia and Pontus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 222-235 |
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| Reference(s) | RPC VI#3192 |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | An elephant stands in profile to the right, rendered in bold relief with trunk lowered and tail raised, its stocky body and characteristic wrinkled hide clearly delineated. The animal occupies the full width of the coin field, set within a dotted border. The ethnic legend ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ is inscribed around the periphery, identifying the issuing city of Nicaea. This reverse type, depicting an elephant, is a well-known civic issue of Nicaea, possibly alluding to the city's Hellenistic traditions or a local festival context. |
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| Additional information |
Nicaea's civic bronze coinage under Severus Alexander reflects the city's sustained prosperity during a reign that ended badly — the emperor was murdered by his own troops in 235 AD, reportedly after his mother Julia Mamaea negotiated directly with Germanic invaders, an act the legions read as humiliation. The city had long competed with neighboring Nicomedia for primacy in Bithynia, and the volume of civic bronze issued under successive Severan emperors tracks that rivalry in metal.