Nicaea was one of the most aggressively productive civic mints in Bithynia under Severus, issuing bronze across virtually his entire reign as the city leveraged imperial loyalty — Severus had drawn significant support from eastern provinces during his campaign against Pescennius Niger in 193–194 — into sustained minting privileges. The city's rivalry with neighboring Nicomedia for regional prestige played out partly through coin output, each city competing for the right to style itself metropolis of the province.
The reference V.2#77167 places this within Varbanov's corpus, where Nicaean bronzes of this reign show considerable die variation.
Nicaea was one of the most aggressively productive civic mints in Bithynia under Severus, issuing bronze across virtually his entire reign as the city leveraged imperial loyalty — Severus had drawn significant support from eastern provinces during his campaign against Pescennius Niger in 193–194 — into sustained minting privileges. The city's rivalry with neighboring Nicomedia for regional prestige played out partly through coin output, each city competing for the right to style itself metropolis of the province.
The reference V.2#77167 places this within Varbanov's corpus, where Nicaean bronzes of this reign show considerable die variation.