Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Æ24 - Commodus ΜΗΤΡ (Π) ΝΕΩ (Ο) ΝΙΚΟΜ (Δ)
| Issuer | Nicomedia (Bithynia and Pontus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 184-190 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | An eagle stands facing with wings spread wide, its head turned to the right, depicted in the act of grappling with a serpent coiled around its body — a powerful and well-known type employed on the civic bronze coinage of Nicomedia. The bold, deeply struck design fills the flan, with the eagle's talons gripping the writhing serpent in a dynamic composition. A circular Greek legend surrounds the type, referencing Nicomedia's status as neokoros metropolis of Bithynia. The reverse type alludes to the city's divine associations, likely connected to the cult of Zeus or Apollo. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Nicomedia held the title of metropolis of Bithynia, a status it contested bitterly with Nicaea for generations — the Greek abbreviations worked into this coin's reverse legend are a direct assertion of that civic primacy, not mere convention. The Commodan period saw these inter-city rivalries peak, with both Nicomedia and Nicaea petitioning Rome repeatedly for honorific titles, each new grant reflected almost immediately in local bronze coinage.