Æ22 - Valerian and Gallienus ΝΙΚΟΜΗΔΕΩΝ ΤΡΙϹ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ

Nicomedia held the title of neokoros — temple warden of the imperial cult — three times by this period, a distinction aggressively pursued by rival Bithynian cities and reflected in the legend ΤΡΙΣ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ. The joint reign of Valerian and Gallienus, which began in 253, was the last moment the empire presented a unified ruling pair before Gallienus excluded the senate from military command and the so-called Crisis of the Third Century fractured imperial coinage into a patchwork of regional and usurper issues. Provincial bronze from Nicomedia effectively ceased with Valerian's capture by Shapur I at Edessa in 260.