Æ34 - Trajan L ΙϚ

Year 16 of Trajan's reign coincided with the emperor's intensive preparations for the Parthian campaign, and Alexandria's mint was under considerable administrative pressure during this period — Egypt's grain surplus was being mobilized to supply the coming eastern war. The provincial bronze coinage of Alexandria operated entirely outside the Roman imperial system, denominated in drachms rather than asses, and accepted nowhere outside Egypt.

The ΙϚ regnal date is the only anchor tying this piece to a specific Alexandrian mint year rather than a reign period broadly.