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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Trebellianus, post: 3120746, member: 91569&quot;]Recently acquired from the good people at Forvm:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]793994[/ATTACH] </p><p><font size="3"><b>Trajan</b>, 103-111AD: O: laureate head right, drapery on far shoulder, IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P / R: Annona standing left holding wheat and cornucopia, modius to left, garlanded prow of ship to right, SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI, S-C between.</font></p><p><br /></p><p>A sestertius which preserves something like its original radiance has been high up on my want-list for a long time, and so I&#039;m consequently very pleased to be the owner of the specimen up here. This bears the mythical &quot;river patina&quot; (rather a misnomer, as noted elsewhere) — the porous, slightly blotchy surfaces are the toll paid for the coin not having darkened much. </p><p><br /></p><p>We have, on the obverse, the <i>optimus princeps</i>: the portrait is finely executed, with the thick neck and slightly flat, elongated head typical of this emperor. On the reverse, an uncharacteristically pacific type, symbolical of the emperor&#039;s generosity in providing the grain-dole. We see the figure of Annona with cornucopia in one hand and ears of wheat in the other (both objects saying, essentially, the same thing); at her feet, a <i>modius</i> overflowing with yet more wheat, and behind her is the prow of a ship, resonant of the transport of grain from Africa to Rome. The die-cutter was presumably hung over when he placed the &quot;S&quot; of the S C. </p><p><br /></p><p>Not an item of any conspicuous artistic interest or historical revelation, but it is <i>very</i> shiny. By way of further illustration:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]794001[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>So there we go: please feel free to post your relatively undisturbed bronzes, Trajans, or whatever else occurs. </p><p><br /></p><p>(As an aside, I&#039;ve seen the ship part described, variously, as a prow and a stern: can anybody with greater knowledge of classical nautical anatomy than I weigh in?)[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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