Æ25 - Domitian ΕΤΟΥΣ ΤΡΙΤΟΥ

This coin dates to Year 3 of Domitian's reign, the Egyptian regnal dating system running from the accession year rather than a calendar reset — a bureaucratic habit inherited from Ptolemaic practice and maintained throughout Roman rule in Egypt. Alexandria's mint operated under tight imperial supervision, issuing bronze for local circulation only; Egyptian coinage was a closed currency system, forbidden from leaving the province and foreign coin from entering it.

Year 3 falls squarely in Domitian's early reign, before the political tensions of the 90s that would later color his historical reputation.