Æ24 - Trajan Decius ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ

Nicaea was one of the most prolific civic minting authorities in Bithynia during the third century, and its output under Trajan Decius reflects the broader pattern of provincial bronze continuing to function as everyday small change even as the central Roman coinage collapsed in silver content. Decius himself ruled fewer than three years before dying at the Battle of Abritus in 251 AD — the first Roman emperor killed in battle against a foreign enemy — which cuts the window for any issue bearing his name sharply short.