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Æ28 - Caracalla ΝΙΚΟΜΗΔΕΩΝ ΔΙϹ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ
| Issuer | Nicomedia (Bithynia and Pontus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 198-217 |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of the emperor Caracalla facing right, rendered in the prevailing provincial style of the Bithynian mint. The portrait displays the characteristic features associated with Caracalla's early imperial coinage, with a wreath of laurel encircling the head. The encircling Greek legend reads ΑΝΤΩΝΕΙΝΟϹ ΑΥΓΟΥϹΤΟϹ, identifying the emperor by his dynastic name Antoninus Augustus. The flan is irregular and the surfaces show heavy patination consistent with long circulation. |
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| Obverse lettering | ΑΝΤΩΝΕΙΝΟϹ ΑΥΓΟΥϹΤΟϹ (Translation: Antoninus Augustus) |
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Nicomedia's neokorate status — the right to maintain an imperial temple cult — was fiercely contested among Bithynian cities, and the ΔΙϹ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ legend on this piece records the city's achievement of a second such honor, likely granted under Caracalla himself as part of the broader imperial policy of distributing cult privileges to loyal provincial centers. The competition between Nicomedia and Nicaea for primacy in Bithynia was an ongoing civic obsession, fought through embassies to Rome, honorific inscriptions, and exactly this kind of coinage asserting rank.