Æ23 - Philip I ΙΕΡΑϹ ΝΕΙΚΟΠΟΛΕΩϹ

Nicopolis ad Istrum — not to be confused with Augustus's Nicopolis in Epirus — was a prolific mint under the Severans and their successors, striking a remarkable range of bronze denominations for local circulation in Moesia Inferior. Philip I's reign saw continued output from several such provincial centers, largely because the central Roman mint at Rome was struggling to meet demand following the monetary disruptions of the third-century crisis. The city's autonomous civic issues, designated with the ΙΕΡΑϹ formula asserting sacred status, reflect a well-established honorific tradition rather than any specific grant from Philip himself.