16 Nummi - Justinian I Thessalonica, Type A • W

Justinian I's fractional copper coinage was reorganized as part of the broader currency reform of 538 AD, which overhauled the Byzantine nummus system and introduced explicit denomination marks to aid a largely illiterate market population. The 16-nummi piece — marked with its value — was among the smaller fractions produced at Thessalonica, a mint that served the Balkan provinces throughout Justinian's long reign and remained active during the devastating Justinianic Plague of 541–549, which killed perhaps a third of the eastern Mediterranean population and severely disrupted coin circulation patterns.