Æ27 - Philip I ΝΙΚΟΜΗΔΕΩΝ ΔΙϹ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ

Nicomedia's title ΔΙΚΝΕΩΚΟΡΟΣ — "twice temple warden" — was a hard-won civic honor granted by Rome, acknowledging the city's hosting of two imperial cult temples. The designation was a point of fierce rivalry with Nicaea, its neighbor and perennial competitor for primacy in Bithynia, and both cities spent considerable resources lobbying emperors for neokorate status and flaunting it on their bronze coinage when granted.

Philip I's reign coincided with Rome's millennial celebrations of 248 AD, during which provincial mints across the east produced elevated volumes of civic bronze. Nicomedia was no exception.