I picked this one up last week, just got around to shooting some photos of the reverse.... I quite like the style, I have seen some really nice examples with a similar reverse struck under Hadrian as well. This one isn't in the best of shape, and is missing some of the obv titles, but I like the portrait and it has a nice reverse I think, and I fancied it when I first saw it. ------------------------------------- Roman Empire, Emperor Trajan (98 - 117 A.D.) Silver Denarius, Rome Mint. obv: IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P - Laureate bust right, drapery on far shoulder. rev: COS V P P SPQR OPTIMO PRINC - Aeternitas standing facing, head left holding the head of Sol in her right hand(our left) and the head of Luna in her left hand(our right). AET AVG - in fields on either side of Aeternitas. RIC 91, RSC 3 ---------------------------------- I just wanted to share this coin with everyone, but I was also wondering if anyone knows the year this coin was minted? I mean... I know it says 'COS V'.
Yes, very nice style Rex. Even though I try to not get dragged too far into Roman collecting, I do like the styles in the Trajan-Hadrian era. The celators seem to have hit a high point then. These photos do not do the coin justice for anyone who doesn't know how small they were. Getting this much detail on that small a flan is impressive! Nice pickup!
Indeed, they must have been truly skilled workers to engrave such detail onto such small dies. Thanks for the comments medoraman. Over the past several years I have been dragged completely into Roman Collecting, I'm swimming in it now. Mostly Imperial.
Yeah its hard for me too get back into u.s. and world coins. They seem kinda boring to me compared with ancients I really like the rev on that one, as well as the portrait. I had almost gotten a similar one, but went with Mars on the rev.
Its pretty hard to be an ancient collector and not collect Romans. Its not that I dislike them, I just prefer more esoteric interests like Byzantine, Sassanid, Central Asian, etc. That is what I meant, that I prefer more obscure, but the are so many Roman that some will always catch your eye, especially Trajan, my favorite emperor.
According to the 1988 edition of David R. Sear's Roman Coins and Their Values, Trajan's fifth consulship was in 103, and his sixth in 112, so I believe that you have a range of 103-111 for possible years for this coin based on that. There's a decent chance that someone out there is a more specialized work could narrow that down further.
I'm away from home now and don't have the books handy but some consul numbers do more for dating than others. Trajan was COS V in 103 and COS VI in 112 so the coin is 103-111 AD. There are other titles that can help pin it down a bit. Oher times when a ruler took consulships in two consecutive years, COS can be a year date. One easy and cheap resource here is David Sear's Roman Coins and their Values NOT the new big expensive Millenium edition but the old one volume model from the 70's. He had a nice chart for each emperor showing when various titles were added so you could follow down whatever evidence was there. I might add that some coin dating is based on theories published by authors of varying degrees of ability so you will find differences of opinion on placement of some issues. I agree with medoraman that there are coins more interesting than 95% of the Romans but the fact remains that 75% of my collection is Roman in some manner (Imperial, Provincial) and the 5% of Romans that I consider especially interesting are really, really interesting to me. I'm not particularly into Trajan and Hadrian which means their coins have to try harder to make me want them. You probably feel that way about Septimius Severus.
Did he really drop those entirely? They're probably the most useful part of the 1988 edition that I have, so that would be unfortunate. Do you know if anyone has put those charts online? If not, I may see if I can make an excel file with those charts or something.
No, he lumped them together at the start of a volume where you can go look if you know they are there but where many people will never find them. I liked the old organization better but it was his book and he did it his way. The COS V period of Trajan could be broken up if a coin showed a TRP or IMP numeral but that was not to be.
So these charts are at the beginning of each volume on Sears new series? I admit I have never seen them, though I own all of them.
Actually the Severan Period is one of the times I find most interesting.... I much like many of the designs of Septimius Severus' coins, although I have only one example of his from Rome. But I have several of Caracalla. In fact, my favorite Roman Imperial coins to collect are the early Antoninianii of Caracalla and Elagabalus, and I hope someday to find a nice one of Macrinus to go along with the ones I have of the emperors before and after him. My avatar is of the obv of my favorite Elagabalus Antoninianus, and possibly my favorite coin in my entire collection. I always liked Hadrian because of his building accomplishments and all, plus he was my father's favorite Emperor, heh. Him and Trajan. I have just always liked this particular reverse style, it is my only coin of Trajan, and as far as Hadrian goes, I have two Denarii of him, and one Alexandria Tet.
