Æ25 - Severus Alexander ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ

Nicaea held unusual administrative importance within Bithynia — it had been the provincial capital before Nicomedia displaced it under Diocletian, and civic bronze issues like this one reflect the city's ongoing competition with its rival for prestige and imperial favor. Under Severus Alexander, that rivalry played out partly through the volume and quality of local bronze coinage, each city effectively advertising its loyalty.

Severus Alexander's thirteen-year reign produced a dense output of provincial bronzes across Bithynia, making die attribution the primary tool for narrowing provenance within the series.