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Æ30 - Marcus Aurelius ΘΕΑ ΥΓΕΙΑ ΝΙΚΑΙΕΙϹ
| Issuer | Nicaea (Bithynia and Pontus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 161-162 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 17.18 g |
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| Obverse description | Bare-headed, cuirassed and paludamentum-draped bust of Emperor Marcus Aurelius facing right, portrayed with his characteristic short curly hair and beard. The imperial effigy is rendered in the standard provincial style of Bithynian civic coinage. The Greek legend encircles the bust along the periphery of the flan, identifying the emperor by his imperial titulature. The flan is broad and slightly irregular, consistent with provincial hammered bronze coinage of the Antonine period. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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This coin was struck in the immediate aftermath of Marcus Aurelius's accession in 161 AD, when he insisted on sharing imperial power with Lucius Verus — an arrangement with no real precedent under the adoptive emperors. Nicaea, one of the principal cities of Bithynia and a persistent rival to Nicomedia for regional primacy, moved quickly to issue civic bronze honoring the new regime. The reverse cult of Hygieia reflects the city's active promotion of healing sanctuaries as a source of civic prestige rather than any specific imperial directive.
Nicaean bronzes of this size from the early Antonine period are moderately scarce in excavation contexts, having circulated heavily across the Propontis region.