Cius, the Bithynian port city on the Propontis, had a long history of civic coinage but dramatically increased its output under Septimius Severus as provincial cities across the empire competed to demonstrate loyalty to the new dynasty following the chaos of 193 AD — the Year of the Four Emperors. Civic bronzes of this period were funded locally and served municipal economic functions entirely separate from the imperial mint system at Rome.
The ethnic legend ΚΙΑΝΩΝ identifies the issuing authority as the citizen body of Cius itself, a formula consistent with Bithynian civic practice under the Severans.
Cius, the Bithynian port city on the Propontis, had a long history of civic coinage but dramatically increased its output under Septimius Severus as provincial cities across the empire competed to demonstrate loyalty to the new dynasty following the chaos of 193 AD — the Year of the Four Emperors. Civic bronzes of this period were funded locally and served municipal economic functions entirely separate from the imperial mint system at Rome.
The ethnic legend ΚΙΑΝΩΝ identifies the issuing authority as the citizen body of Cius itself, a formula consistent with Bithynian civic practice under the Severans.