Nikomedeia (AD 222-235) AE 20

Severus Alexander, 222-235 AD. AE20 (4.26g). M AVPH ALEΞANΔPOC AVΓ, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / TPIC NEΩKOPΩN NIKOMEDEΩN, Astakos, nude to hips, standing right, head left, right foot on row, holding scepter in left arm and pointing with left hand backwards. VF, black-green patina. Hoeft coll.

Astakos was one of the ktistes of Astakos, ancestor of Nikomedia. He was worshipped until Roman times. The city of Astakos was founded by Colonists of Megara and later destroyed by Lysimachos. Nikomedes I. founded 264/3 a new city some miles north of the old Astakos and named it Neikomedia.