Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXIII 24-25 Mar 2022
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Trajan AV Aureus. Rome, AD 114-116. IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC, laureate heroic bust to right, wearing aegis with strap over chest, globe below bust / P M TR P COS VI P P S P Q R, Fortuna seated to left, holding rudder and cornucopiae; FORT RED in exergue. RIC II 321; C. 151; BMCRE 576; Woytek 525tt+-1¹ = Calicó 1024 (same dies). 7.35g, 19mm, 7h.
Extremely Fine; a beautiful example of Trajan's 'heroic' portraiture. Extremely Rare; only the second example to appear at auction in the past 20 years.
Trajan's portrait on the obverse of the present aureus casts him in a heroic guise, imbued with symbolism. The date for the striking of this coin coincides with his consenting to take the epithet of 'Optimus' as part of his personal title, an honorific that had been bestowed on him by the Senate back in AD 105. Indeed, there appears to be no modesty in the iconography of this portrait; not only is he wearing the divine attribute of the aegis, but he is also portrayed above a globe, highlighting the unending nature of his empire. The style of this portrait could furthermore be seen as combining a tradition of veristic portraits, which evokes the senatorial portraits of the Republican period, with a more idealised, allegorical image of a benevolent warrior emperor.
Extremely Fine; a beautiful example of Trajan's 'heroic' portraiture. Extremely Rare; only the second example to appear at auction in the past 20 years.
Trajan's portrait on the obverse of the present aureus casts him in a heroic guise, imbued with symbolism. The date for the striking of this coin coincides with his consenting to take the epithet of 'Optimus' as part of his personal title, an honorific that had been bestowed on him by the Senate back in AD 105. Indeed, there appears to be no modesty in the iconography of this portrait; not only is he wearing the divine attribute of the aegis, but he is also portrayed above a globe, highlighting the unending nature of his empire. The style of this portrait could furthermore be seen as combining a tradition of veristic portraits, which evokes the senatorial portraits of the Republican period, with a more idealised, allegorical image of a benevolent warrior emperor.