Æ36 - Marcus Aurelius ΕΠΙ ϹΤΡ Κ ΝΙΚΟΜΗΔΟ Β ΝΕΟΚΟΡΩΝ ΠΕΡΓΑΜΗΝΩΝ

This issue dates to the period immediately following Marcus Aurelius's suppression of the Avidius Cassius revolt — a short-lived usurpation that erupted in Syria in 175 AD and collapsed within three months upon Cassius's assassination by his own officers. The emperor's subsequent tour of the eastern provinces brought him through Asia Minor, and the cities of the conventus competed aggressively for imperial favor through honorific coinage. Pergamum held the title of twice-neokoros, recognizing its status as twice-keeper of the imperial cult, a distinction that shaped civic identity and drove the production of prestige bronzes at exactly this moment.