Æ23 - Trajan Decius COL METPOPOL BOSTRON

Bostra served as the capital of the Roman province of Arabia Provincia after Trajan annexed the Nabataean kingdom in 106 AD, and the city retained the right to strike its own bronze coinage well into the third century. The COL METROPOL BOSTRON legend reflects the city's formal colonial status, a designation that carried real legal privileges for its inhabitants under Roman law.

Trajan Decius reigned less than two years before dying at the Battle of Abritus in 251 AD — the first Roman emperor killed in battle against a foreign enemy. Provincial issues from his reign are correspondingly scarce.