January 28th: the OPTIMUS PRINCEPS.

Museum of Art History in Vienna, Austria.

The reign of the Roman emperor Trajan, from 98 to 117 AD, brought Roman territorial expansion to its peak and left the memory of a period of peace, prosperity, administrative stability. Trajan was long considered the model of the perfect emperor. The first emperor to have been born outside Italy, Trajan came from southern Spain. His nomination by the generals was a bold and important move, signaling that educated and wealthy men from all over the empire were eligible for the highest office.
He conquered Dacia (now part of Romania), which provided land for Roman settlers and a rich harvest of gold and salt. He then attacked the Parthians, Rome's old enemy in the east, who lived in what is now part of Iran. By 115 AD he had captured the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon and reached the Persian Gulf.

A few of his achievements:
Trajan's Column (Latin: Columna Traiani) is a Roman triumphal column located on Trajan's Forum in Rome. It is 130 feet high. It is famous for the bas-relief which spirals around its shaft and commemorates the victory of Emperor Trajan over the Dacians.



The Via Traiana is a Roman road built under Emperor Trajan, to whom it owes its name, offering a more pleasant coastal alternative to the Via Appia up to Brundisium.



Trajan is one of the emperors who minted the most coins. One of the reasons for this is the devaluation of 107 AD. At that time, it decreases the silver purity of the denarius which allows it to issue significantly more coins. During his reign, almost 200 workshops were minting coins in the provinces. Since he was a warrior first and foremost and the greater part of his coinage will portray military themes and honor the favored gods of war. It will also become evident that This Emperor's coins set records for the longest legends around the rim of each coin.

On the day he became Emperor, please show us your Trajan's coins !

Trajan denarius
Trajan's column
OPTIMO PRINCIPI


Trajan Sestertius (worn but my biggest with 34mm 25.80g)
IMP CAES NERVA TRAIANO AVG GER DAC PM TRP COS VPP
SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI SC

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Great write-up, great photos, and great coins!

Since you mention the Via Traiana, here's this one commemorating its construction:


Trajan, AD 98-117.
Roman AR Denarius, 3.39 g, 18.4 mm, 7 h.
Rome, AD 112-117 (likely AD 113).
Obv: IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P, laureate bust, right, with slight drapery on left shoulder.
Rev: S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, woman (Via Traiana) reclining left on rocks, holding wheel in right hand and branch in left hand; in exergue, VIA TRAIANA.
Refs: RIC 266; BMCRE 487-91; RSC/Cohen 468; Strack 179a; RCV 3173; UCR 582; Woytek (MIR) 3983b.

 

Thanks for the recap, @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix ... nice coins!


RI Trajan AR Den Rome CE 112-114. IMP TRAIANO COS VI P P l SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI, Trajan on horseback RIC 291



RI Trajan AR Denarius 98-117 CE 3 Standards

 

Yes, he was a soldier and has wonderful military types but he was dutiful enough as a son to honor his late birth father on a reverse type.
DIVVS PATER TRAIAN

 

Great write-up. I would love a coin with Trajan's column, but I have yet to see a nice one that I can afford.

Most of my Trajans, for some reason, are Provincials -- but no Alexandrians, oddly enough. Here are four:

Trajan AR Tetradrachm, 100 AD, Phoenicia, Tyre, Melqart on reverse:



Trajan AR Denarius, 106 AD, Severely emaciated captive Dacian in mourning on reverse:


Trajan AR Tetradrachm, 112 AD, Seleucis & Pieria, Antioch Mint, Tyche of Antioch with Orontes on reverse:



Trajan AR Drachm, 115-Feb. 116 AD [before granting of Parthia title], Arabia Bostra (or Rome), camel on reverse:

 

Here are four sestertii and a dupondius of one of the greatest emperors commemorating Ceres and the grain supply to Italy, his victory against the Dacians, ,and addressing his troops...

 

I guess Trajan has to be one of my favorite emperors. Most of his coins are really spectacular. I have only about 300 Roman coins and 21 of them are of Trajan. This is my latest
Trajan Av Aureus 108-110 AD Obv Head right laureate draped and cuirassed seen from back Rv. Ceres standing left. RIC 109 Woytek 291 f 7.33 grms 20mm Photo by W. Hansen I bought this aureus from the NAC auction last October that featured a spectacular assemblage of Roman Imperial aurei. I just loved the style and the composition o the portrait. The portrait of emperors seen from the back was a staple in the lexicon of imagery in the third century AD It is so interesting to see how this image was handled in the second.

 

I have a single Trajan sesty which I saved from the brink of extinction!

 

Bronze (Orichalcum) Dupondius
Rome mint, A.D. 103-111
Obv: IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P
Rev: SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI - Fortuna standing, facing left, holding cornucopia and resting rudder on prow of ship, between S and C
RIC 402
29mm, 8.6g.

 

TRAJAN AEs


RI Trajan Egypt AE Dichalkon Laureate hd L Rhinoceros walking L LI-Z yr 17 CE 113-114 12.9mm 1.25g Emmet 719 var. rhino
EX: SteveX6 collection



RI AE As Trajan CE 98-117 26mm 11.0g Rome Laureate Draped - SENATVS POPVLVSQVE ROMANVS Victory R wreath palm S-C RIC 675

 

Great examples. I have only one interesting enough to warrant an inclusion. I do have a couple of specimens depicting the Trajan’s column, but they are quite low grade.

Roman Empire: Trajan (27 Jan, 98 AD-8 Aug, 117 AD) AR Denarius. Rome mint, 112-114 AD, RIC 291, RSC 497a, BMC 445, Sear 3166 (3.26 g, 20 mm)

The reverse of this type likely depicts the Equus Traiani, a colossal equestrian statue of Trajan that once stood in the center of the plaza of Trajan’s Forum, and is now lost to history.

Although other coin types show Trajan on horseback, those dating to his sixth consulship (112 AD), the year in which the forum was dedicated, would seem to commemorate the statue, which was likely modelled after Equus Domitiani, which stood in the Forum Romanum. Equus Traiani, in turn, probably influenced the design of the surviving bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius.


(Image credit: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wik...Marci_Aurelii_Antonini.PNG#mw-jump-to-license)

Obverse: IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC PM TRP COS VI PP. Laureate bust right, drapery on left shoulder

Reverse: S.P.Q.R. OPTIMO PRINCIPI. Equus Traiani, depicting Trajan on horseback left carrying spear in the right hand and small victory in the left

 

Thanks for the write up and the pics Oca

Wise decision of Nerva to appoint Trajanus as his successor

 

TRAIANUS


Arabia Petraea, Bostra.
Trajan. CE 98-117.
AR drachm (18.57 mm, 2.92 g, 8 h).
Struck CE 112.
AYTOKP KAIC NEP TPAIANω APICTω CЄB ΓЄPM ΔAK, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind /
ΔHMAPX EΞ UPATO ς, (ς = "six times consul" = A.D. 112) Camel walking left.
SNG ANS 1158; SNG von Aulock 6408; Sydenham, Caesarea 205.
Ex Harlan J. Berk
Ex: Agora

AYTOKP KAIC NЄP TPAINω APICTω CЄB ΓЄPM ΔAK
AUTOCRAIS NER TRAIANW ARISTW SEB GERM DAC

ΔHMAPX ЄΞ YΠATO ς (= "six times consul" = A.D. 112)
DHMARCE XUPATOS



RI Trajan AR Denarius 98-117 CE Trophy over Dacian Captive RIC II 222

 

Trajan (or the spelling in my language, Traian) is a central figure in the history of my country. As everybody knows, he conquered Dacia, or a big part of it, after the Dacian Wars. He is considered the founder of our nation.
He is even present in folk customs, there is an ancient tradition that in the New Year's Eve, groups of children (or in some parts of the country, mature people) perform something that is translated as "the little plow" - they go to neighbors' houses and say a poem about winter and agriculture. In some versions, Traian is the main character.

When I started collecting ancient coins, Traian coins were a must. And it will remain a main goal for my collection. I intend to buy some large bronzes and, especially, coins related to the Dacian conquest.

My Traian/Trajan coins:



Lydia. Thyateira. Trajan AD 98-117.
Bronze Æ 18 mm., 3,91 g. - RPC 1826



Trajan AD 98-117. Rome
Denarius AR 19 mm., 2,68 g. RIC 262




Trajan AD 98-117. Rome
Quadrans Æ 114-117 20 mm., 3,01 g. RIC 693



Seleucis and Pieria. Seleuceia Pieria. Trajan AD 98-117.
Bronze Æ 24 mm., 12,21 g. RPC 3775

 

In my post above I mentioned that I had 21 coins of Trajan. I forgot I also have 3 "Provincials" bringing the total to 24. Trajan Ar Tetradrachm Antioch (Though I think this coin was actually minted at Rome for circulation in the east) 103-111 AD Obv Head right laureate set on eagle. Rv Head of Melkart-Hercules right with lion skin tied around neck. Mc Alee 455A RPC 3529 15.03 grms 25 mm Photo by W. Hansen

 

Wow that's a whole lot of Trajan! Though it's not hard to see why anyone would have so many....certainly, he produced some of the most beautiful coins of all the emperors. My grand total for Trajan currently stands at 1 (excluding a ratty denarius I purchased when I was 11 or 12)! At the moment, I just have an aureus, which I believe is the same type as yours. As it is en route, I will refrain from posting it in this thread until I have my own photograph!

 

One more denarius, purchased close to 15 years ago (before I actively collected ancient coins), that I didn't post before because I hadn't merged the two separate images. An interesting hatchet face on Fortuna:

Trajan AR Denarius, 112 AD or later, Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate, draped bust right, IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GERM DAC/ Rev. Fortuna seated left on throne with rudder & cornucopiae, P M TR P COS VI P P SPQR (FORT • RED in exergue). RIC II 318, RSC II 154, BMCRE 578, Sear RCV (1981 ed.) 884 (ill.) [not in Millennium Edition]. 18.9 mm., 3.11 g.



Plus I can't resist posting this photo again -- not my coin, but I saved the photo because of how spectacularly pre-human Trajan looks:

 

On of his celebrating the conquest of Dacia. Trajan Ar Denarius Rome 108-109 AD Obv Bust right laureate aegis on far shoulder. Rv. Dacian seated left in attitude of mourning on pile of arms. (This got to be more uncomfortable than the throne in the Red Keep)RIC 98 var Woytek 283e At the time of purchase the image with the aegis was unknown. It is still somewhat scarce. In term of commemoration the Dacian campaign and its incorporation into the empire is one of the more important threads in his coinage though few are as explicitly referenced as this coin is.