Æ27 - Septimius Severus ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ

Nicaea's civic bronze issues under Septimius Severus reflect the city's careful alignment with the new Severan dynasty following the turbulent Year of the Four Emperors in 193 AD — a conflict in which Bithynia fell within the contested eastern sphere. Cities like Nicaea struck provincial bronze not merely for small commerce but to publicly declare loyalty, the emperor's name on local coinage functioning as a political statement directed as much at Rome as at local markets.