Catalog
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| Issuer | Nicaea (Bithynia and Pontus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 251-253 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | RPC IX#289 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Athena, helmeted and draped, seated to the left upon a shield, holding a patera in her extended right hand and an upright spear in her left. The figure is rendered in the conventional provincial style, with the civic ethnic legend ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ distributed around the field, identifying the issuing city of Nicaea. The reverse type reflects the city's traditional veneration of Athena as a civic deity. |
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| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (251-253) |
| Additional information |
Nicaea was one of the most prolific civic minting authorities in Bithynia, continuing to strike bronze well into the third century even as the Roman imperial mint system expanded. Trebonianus Gallus came to power after the death of Decius at the Battle of Abritus in 251 — the first emperor killed in battle against a foreign enemy — and his two-year reign coincided with renewed Plague of Cyprian devastation across the provinces.
Civic bronze of this period from Bithynian cities was winding down; Gallus-era Nicaean issues are among the last the city produced before municipal coinage ceased altogether in the region.