Æ28 - Marcus Aurelius ΚΥΖΙΚΗΝΩΝ ΝΕΟΚΟΡΩΝ

Cyzicus held the title of neokoros — temple warden of the imperial cult — and the civic pride attached to that honor was considerable. The city had lobbied hard for it, and coins asserting the designation were effectively political statements about Cyzicus's standing among the great cities of Asia Minor, where competition for such titles was fierce and sometimes resolved by senatorial decree.

The years 169–175 bracket the Antonine Plague and the Marcomannic Wars simultaneously — Marcus Aurelius spent much of this period on campaign along the Danube rather than in Rome.