Æ35 - Septimius Severus ϹΕΟΥΗΡΕΙΑ ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛΦΕΙΑ ΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ

Nicaea's civic bronze coinage under Septimius Severus reflects the city's aggressive pursuit of imperial favor during the dynastic instability that followed the Year of the Four Emperors in 193 AD. The ϹΕΟΥΗΡΕΙΑ ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛΦΕΙΑ games festival celebrated on this coin was likely instituted — or prominently publicized on coinage — as a direct bid for prestige against Nicomedia, Nicaea's perennial rival for provincial supremacy in Bithynia. The two cities contested the title of metropolis of the province for generations, and honorific festival coinage was a recognized tool in that competition.