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Æ30 - Marcus Aurelius ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ
| Issuer | Nicaea (Bithynia and Pontus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 161-162 |
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| Composition | Bronze |
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| Obverse description | Bare-headed effigy of Marcus Aurelius facing right, with a short cropped beard rendered in fine detail characteristic of early Antonine portraiture. The bust is draped and cuirassed, presenting the emperor in a martial aspect. A Greek legend encircles the portrait in the field, reading Μ ΑΥΡΗΛΙ ΑΝΤΩΝΙ ΑΥΓ, with the alpha characters notably rendered in the form of lambdas, a regional epigraphic peculiarity of Bithynian civic coinage. The die work reflects the provincial Greek style of the mid-2nd century AD. |
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| Obverse lettering | Μ ΑΥΡΗΛΙ ΑΝΤΩΝΙ ΑΥΓ (Αs shaped as Λs) |
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Nicaea's early issues for Marcus Aurelius followed almost immediately upon his accession in 161, when he assumed the purple jointly with Lucius Verus — the first time Rome had operated under a formal dual emperorship. The city had long competed with neighboring Nicomedia for the title of first city of Bithynia, and coinage bearing the new emperor's name was one tool in that ongoing civic rivalry.
The ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ ethnic legend asserts civic identity as much as it announces issuing authority.