BITHYNIA. Nikaia. C. Papirius Carbo, procurator, 61/0-59/8 BC. Dichalkon (?) (Orichalcum, 20 mm, 5.94 g, 12 h), BE 222 = 61/0. NIKAIΕΩN / BKΣ Laureate head of Apollo to right, with single long curl falling down his neck; to right, monogram. Rev. [EΠI Γ]AIOY / ΠAΠIPIOY / KAPBΩNOΣ Filleted thyrsos. RG 8 var. (different date). SNG Copenhagen 467. Stumpf 102 corr. ('Dionysos'). Weiser, Nikaia, 1-3. An unusually attractive example with a splendid light green patina. Adjustment marks as made and with the beginning of the reverse legend obliterated from the die, otherwise, extremely fine.

We know from Cass. Dio 36.40.3-5 that C. Papirius Carbo rose to fame in 67 BC by successfully prosecuting the infamous Marcus Aurelius Cotta for embezzling war booty from the capture of Herakleia Pontika in 71 BC. Carbo's victory in court greatly helped in the acceleration of his career: he became praetor and governor of Pontus-Bithynia, the very province that Herakleia Pontika was part of. During his term of office, a number of Bithynian cities issued coins such as ours; they bear Carbo's name and the dates 222-224 of the Bithynian era. Since the beginning of this era is dated to 283/2 or 282/1 by modern scholars - the latter, connected to Lysimachos death in the battle of Kurupedion, is more plausible - Carbo's governorship can be dated to 62/1-60/59 or 61/0-59/8. The fact that Carbo himself was later prosecuted by Cotta's son for alleged misdemeanors during his governorship is symptomatic of the state of the late Republic: even considering the possibility of a personal background behind the charge, the lack of oversight and the massive debts that candidates used to run up in their expensive electoral campaigns led to governorships being notoriously prone to abuse, and Carbo will hardly have been an exception.