Æ35 - Marcus Aurelius ΚΥΖΙΚΗΝΩΝ ΝΕΟΚΟ

Cyzicus held the title of neokoros — temple warden of the imperial cult — and the ΝΕΟΚΟ abbreviation on this issue signals that status directly. The city earned its first neokorate under Hadrian, when construction of the massive Hadrianeion temple complex began, a project so ambitious that ancient sources describe the temple among the wonders of Asia Minor. By the time this coin was struck under Marcus Aurelius, the title had become a point of fierce municipal competition among the great cities of the Propontis.

Bronze civic issues of this diameter from Cyzicus are not common survivors — the city's position on the Propontis exposed its economy to recurring disruption, and large-denomination bronzes circulated hard.