Nicaea was one of the most prolific bronze-issuing cities in Bithynia under the Severan dynasty, and its civic coinage under Caracalla reflects the city's sustained effort to curry imperial favor — particularly after his elevation to co-emperor with Septimius Severus in 198 AD. The city had long competed with neighboring Nicomedia for the title of regional metropolis, and the volume and quality of bronze struck in Caracalla's name was partly a function of that rivalry.
The ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ ethnic inscription places this firmly within the civic rather than koinon series.
Nicaea was one of the most prolific bronze-issuing cities in Bithynia under the Severan dynasty, and its civic coinage under Caracalla reflects the city's sustained effort to curry imperial favor — particularly after his elevation to co-emperor with Septimius Severus in 198 AD. The city had long competed with neighboring Nicomedia for the title of regional metropolis, and the volume and quality of bronze struck in Caracalla's name was partly a function of that rivalry.
The ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ ethnic inscription places this firmly within the civic rather than koinon series.