Heritage World Coin Auctions
Long Beach Signature Sale 3042 Online Sess. 21-22 Sep 2015
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Trajan (AD 98-117). AR denarius (20mm, 3.34 gm, 7h). Rome, AD 114-115. IMP TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC PM TR P, laureate and draped bust of Trajan right / COS VI PP SPQR, Jupiter standing facing, head left, holding thunderbolt, scepter, and cloak spread out to cover a smaller figure of Trajan, togate, standing facing, head left, holding branch and scepter. RIC II 298. RSC 108. A superior example of this interesting type, with a sharp portrait and lustrous surfaces. NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5. During the Eastern campaign of AD 114-117, Trajan barely escaped death in Antioch when a severe earthquake collapsed the building where he was in residence, forcing him to escape through a window. According to Cassius Dio, Trajan was rescued "by some being, of greater than human stature, who came to him and led him forth, so he escaped with only a few slight injuries. " The figure was later taken to be a god, perhaps Jupiter himself in quasi-mortal guise. This denarius, which shows a giant figure of Jupiter shielding the emperor, likely refers to this episode.
Estimate: 600-800 USD
Trajan (AD 98-117). AR denarius (20mm, 3.34 gm, 7h). Rome, AD 114-115. IMP TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC PM TR P, laureate and draped bust of Trajan right / COS VI PP SPQR, Jupiter standing facing, head left, holding thunderbolt, scepter, and cloak spread out to cover a smaller figure of Trajan, togate, standing facing, head left, holding branch and scepter. RIC II 298. RSC 108. A superior example of this interesting type, with a sharp portrait and lustrous surfaces. NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5. During the Eastern campaign of AD 114-117, Trajan barely escaped death in Antioch when a severe earthquake collapsed the building where he was in residence, forcing him to escape through a window. According to Cassius Dio, Trajan was rescued "by some being, of greater than human stature, who came to him and led him forth, so he escaped with only a few slight injuries. " The figure was later taken to be a god, perhaps Jupiter himself in quasi-mortal guise. This denarius, which shows a giant figure of Jupiter shielding the emperor, likely refers to this episode.
Estimate: 600-800 USD