Æ35 - Claudius II ϹΤΡΑ ϹΕΠΤ ΠΟΝΤΙΚΟΥ / ΚΥΖΙΚΗΝΩΝ Β / ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ

Cyzicus held the rare distinction of being a double neokoros city — twice granted the honor of maintaining an imperial cult temple — a status jealously accumulated over generations of loyalty to Rome and reflected directly in the ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ Β legend. The Strategos Septimios Pontikos named in this issue was a local magistrate whose office gave him the authority to sponsor civic bronze coinage, a right the city exercised with particular energy during the chaotic reign of Claudius II, when central mint output was strained by the Gothic wars consuming the Balkans.