Æ32 - Septimius Severus ΚΑΛΧΑΔΟΝΙΩΝ

Calchedon occupied a strategically awkward position directly across the Bosphorus from Byzantium, and during the civil wars of 193 AD the city made the politically costly mistake of backing Pescennius Niger against Septimius Severus. After Niger's defeat, Severus punished Byzantium with a brutal siege lasting nearly three years — Calchedon's fate was considerably quieter, but civic coinage bearing Severus's name in this period likely reflects a deliberate demonstration of loyalty by a city anxious to avoid similar retribution.