Æ34 - Septimius Severus ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ

Nicaea was one of the most prolific provincial minting cities under Septimius Severus, partly because the emperor spent considerable time in the eastern provinces consolidating power after defeating his rivals Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus in the civil wars of 193–197. Bithynian civic bronzes of this period were produced under local magistrates using municipal authority — not imperial direction — which accounts for the wide variation in die workmanship across issues from the same city and reign.

The ethnic legend ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ identifies civic pride as much as issuing authority; Nicaea and neighboring Nicomedia competed fiercely for honorific titles throughout the Severan period.