Æ27 - Valerian and Gallienus ΟΙ ΚΤΙϹΤΑΙ ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ

The legend ΟΙ ΚΤΙϹΤΑΙ — "the founders" — reflects Nicaea's long-standing civic pride in its Hellenistic origins, a tradition the city's moneyers invoked selectively during moments of political alignment with Rome. Striking coins jointly in the names of Valerian and Gallienus places this issue within the narrow window of their co-rule before Valerian's capture by Shapur I at the Battle of Edessa in 260, an event that effectively ended Roman provincial coinage issued under his authority.

Nicaea was one of the more prolific civic mints of Bithynia during the third century, and joint imperial issues from this city are well-documented but not uniform in die execution.