Æ23 - Marcus Aurelius ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ

Nicaea's civic bronze coinage under Marcus Aurelius was issued during a period when the city was consolidating its position as the dominant urban center of Bithynia, a rivalry with Nicomedia that spilled into titles, building programs, and the very legends stamped on local coinage. The ethnic legend ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ — straightforwardly asserting civic identity — reflects how provincial cities used bronze issues as much for local prestige as for small commerce.

The reference IV.1#8436 places this within the Corpus Nummorum framework for Bithynian civic issues, a cataloguing project that has repeatedly revised attributions for this reign as new die links surface.