Æ22 - Elagabalus ΚΥΖΙΚΗ ΝΕΟΚΟ

Cyzicus held the title of neokoros — temple warden of the imperial cult — multiple times over, a distinction aggressively lobbied for through civic embassies to Rome and commemorated on local bronze issues exactly like this one. The abbreviated ΝΕΟΚΟ on the reverse references that status directly. Elagabalus, whose reign lasted just four years before his murder by the Praetorian Guard in 222 AD, was nonetheless a prolific occasion for provincial mint activity, as cities competed to issue flattering coinage in the name of a notoriously difficult emperor to court.