Æ34 - Marcus Aurelius ΚΥΖΙΚΗΝΩΝ ΝΕΟΚΟ

Cyzicus held the title of neokoros — official keeper of an imperial cult temple — and this issue almost certainly commemorates the city's grant of that honor under Marcus Aurelius, possibly its first such grant. The neokorate was a fiercely contested civic distinction in the Greek East; cities lobbied the emperor directly, and the title brought real economic benefits through festival traffic and increased prestige among neighboring poleis. Cyzicus had long been one of the wealthiest port cities on the Propontis, and its electrum coinage had dominated regional trade for centuries before Roman provincial bronze replaced it.