Æ25 - Domitian ΕΤΟΥΣ ΠΕΜΠΤΟΥ

Year five of Domitian's reign — ΕΤΟΥΣ ΠΕΜΠΤΟΥ, the Alexandrian dating formula — places this coin squarely within a period when Domitian was tightening imperial control over Egypt's grain supply, the lifeblood of Roman food security. Alexandria's mint operated under direct imperial supervision, unlike most provincial issues, and the regnal year dating system used here was specific to Egypt's administrative machinery, inherited from Ptolemaic practice and never abandoned under Roman rule.