Last coin of 2014: Trajan's Column denarius

Trajan. CE 98-117. Rome mint, CE 114-115. AR denarius, 18 mm, 3.7 gm. IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC. Laureate and draped bust right / P M TR P COS VI P P S P Q R. Trajan’s column surmounted by statue of Trajan, holding patera and scepter; two eagles at base. RIC II 35

One of the most desirable issues for Trajan collectors, this denarius depicts the triumphal column of Trajan, an incredible and still-standing tribute to the emperor's successful Dacian campaigns of CE 101-2 and 105-6.


image from Wikipedia

About the column

• Completed in CE 113
• Funded by the spoils of the Dacian wars
• 35 meters tall (125 feet), including the base
• The shaft is composed of 20 drums of Carrera marble, each ~3.7 meters in diameter (11 feet)
• A spiral staircase within leads to a viewing platform
• The bas relief friezes spiral 23 times up the column and has 155 scenes with more than 2600 carved figures. Unwound, the frieze measures 190 meters (625 feet) in length.
• The story of both Dacian wars are shown in the friezes. The first war starts at the bottom, a beautiful carving of Victory separates the two stories.
• Trajan's and Plotina's ashes were interred in the column's base (since removed)
• The topping statue of Trajan, lost in the middle ages, was replaced by Pope Sixtus V in 1587. St. Peter's statue remains atop the column to this day.

How did they lift the 32-ton marble drums that high?

Probably by something similar to this lifting tower:




Where's Trajan?

Trajan appears 59 times in the friezes. He is distinctive and the carving realistic enough to pick him out, although with 2600 figures to sort through it's a bit like finding Waldo.




A fun and fanciful tour book story

"The column's survival was largely thanks to the intervention of Pope Gregory the Great (reigned 590-604). He was so moved by a relief showing Trajan helping a woman whose son had been killed that he begged God to release the emperor's soul from hell. God duly appeared to the pope to say that Trajan had been rescued, but asked him not to pray for the souls of any more pagans.

According to legend, when Trajan's ashes were exhumed his skull and tongue were not only intact, but his tongue told of his release from hell.

The land around the column was then declared sacred and the column itself was spared." --ItalyGuides.it


Further reading

Dartmouth.edu, detailed studies of the column
United Nations of Roma Victrix, summary of the Dacian wars
Trajan's Column iPad app.

...

Post your Trajan's Columns

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Have come close to buying one on a few occasions but passed due to clipping of the statue like yours, or high cost :/

Beautiful coin all around though.

 

Excellent, bravo! A wonderful, beautiful coin. The column is one of the ancient monuments that I'd like to see the next time I make it over the pond.

 

Nice! What a *cough* monumental way to end 2014. I think Trajan looks quite stately in his Waldo outfit.

 

Like Mat, I have come close, but no cigar, um I mean column. Vry nice TIF.

 

I thought you had snagged one of AJ's coins again since I saw he just got his own Trajan's Column and I had to do a quick double take on his website.

I don't know if you linked it but I think there is a website that you can essentially 'scroll' through the entire story depicted on Trajan's column.

 

Not this time, although I can understand your thought process as our coins do look extremely similar, even down to the toning. The price of mine was too good to resist and does retain most of the detail, although it could definitely be better centered. I haven't had a chance to write a description yet so I'll happily take advantage of TIF's acquisition!

 

It was the headless Trajan on both that made me think they were the same.

 

A nice example of a coveted coin!

 

Ummm, it's not the size of the column that counts, is it?




... whatev ...

Wow => that's an amazing coin, my Princess (very cool Trajan)

=> you've had an amazing year (cheers)

 

Great post and a great coin TIF! Makes me wonder what in the world ever happened to the original statue atop the column?

 

I haven't found any definite answer to this question although I haven't done a thorough search. Fourth-hand internet sources indicate either that the original statue was "replaced" by Pope Sixtus V or that the original statue was "lost", clearing the way for a Christian statue.

Perhaps a search of the Vatican's catacombs would reveal the missing statue .

 

Sweet coin. Looks like TIF's coin has a bit more detail then AJ's, still tho both are nice to have. Maybe one day when I get more into Romans, I will look into getting one.

 

Wow TIF, i almost miss this awesome coin. great info,i really like it...

 

Resurrecting this old thread to add a very cool interactive presentation of Trajan's column. This National Geographic spread shows each panel, in sequence, swirling like a giant candy cane. There are brief annotations and Trajan is shown in gold throughout.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/trajan-column/

 

Sorry to bump this yet again but this is very cool... a stop-motion video showing how Trajan's column may have been built:

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/magazine/150315-ngm-building-trajans-column

 

Great little video. Roman engineering never ceases to amaze me.

 

You know, after you posted this thread, I looked for a denarius of the type, but couldn't find one on which the head of Trajan's statue wasn't cut off. Even on your and Joe's high-grade examples it's missing or partial. I wouldn't be able to afford one in better than F, but to make up for that, I'd need one with a full head. Maybe someday I'll find it.

 

Your observation is very correct. I generally try to avoid buying placeholder coins but I had been searching for ages for a good, well-centered example and eventually just decided to settle for an example which was "good enough". Despite not being horribly rare, these are very tough to find without having to compromise in some way.

 

Your coin certainly requires no apologies. One just wishes the minters were a LITTLE more careful about the striking. Just 2 millimeters down and the reverse would be perfect. The flan is certainly large enough to encompass the head and the base of the column.

BTW, you've been a little absent lately. I'm waiting for you to unleash another incredible coin on us, any day now...