Æ26 - Philip I ΝΙΚΟΜΗΔΕΩΝ ΔΙϹ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ

Nicomedia held the title of neokoros — official keeper of an imperial cult temple — twice over, a distinction advertised aggressively on civic bronze during Philip I's reign as the city jockeyed for prestige against its longtime rival Nicaea. The dual neokorate status reflected grants made under earlier emperors, and Nicomedia was acutely conscious of the hierarchy; losing ground to Nicaea on any honorific front was a civic catastrophe worth years of petition to Rome.

Philip's Arab origins and his negotiated peace with Persia in 244 gave eastern mints particular reason to cultivate goodwill with the new emperor quickly.