Æ27 - Septimius Severus ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ

Nicaea, one of the most politically active minting cities in Bithynia under the Severan dynasty, issued provincial bronzes in substantial volume during Septimius Severus's reign — partly as civic self-promotion, partly as a practical response to chronic shortages of small-denomination imperial coinage in the eastern provinces. The city had long competed with neighboring Nicomedia for regional prestige, and coin output was one measurable arena of that rivalry.

The ethnic legend ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ, asserting civic identity rather than imperial authority, is the norm for Bithynian issues of this period.