Æ28 - Septimius Severus ΒΙΘΥΝΙΕΩΝ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΩΝ

Bithynium-Claudiopolis held particular dynastic significance under Septimius Severus: the city was the birthplace of Antinous, the deified favorite of Hadrian, and civic bronze issues from this mint routinely invoked the Hadrianic connection through the ΑΔΡΙΑΝΩΝ ethnic — a deliberate appeal to imperial prestige that dated back generations. By Severus's reign the title had become a mark of civic identity rather than active Hadrianic patronage, but cities in Bithynia competed fiercely for honorific epithets and kept them stamped on local bronze long after the original grant.