Year 16 of Trajan's reign, which this coin's regnal date marks, fell during the immediate run-up to his Parthian campaign — the most ambitious Roman military undertaking since Augustus. Alexandrian civic bronzes of this precise year are among the smallest denominations the mint produced, and their survival rate is poor; the thin fabric and low module made them vulnerable to corrosion in Egypt's agricultural zones despite the otherwise favorable preservation conditions of the Nile Delta.
Year 16 of Trajan's reign, which this coin's regnal date marks, fell during the immediate run-up to his Parthian campaign — the most ambitious Roman military undertaking since Augustus. Alexandrian civic bronzes of this precise year are among the smallest denominations the mint produced, and their survival rate is poor; the thin fabric and low module made them vulnerable to corrosion in Egypt's agricultural zones despite the otherwise favorable preservation conditions of the Nile Delta.