Trajan, AD 98–117. AV Aureus

Trajan, AD 98–117. AV Aureus (19 mm, 7.27 g, 6 h). Rome, circa 108–110.

Obv. IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Trajan right, seen from behind.

Rev. COS V P P S P Q R OPTIMO PRINC. Ceres standing facing, head left, holding two grain ears in right hand and long torch in left.

Refs: BMC 258; Calicó 996a (this coin illustrated); Cohen 65 var. (bust type); RIC 109 var. (bust type); Woytek 291f.

A handsome aureus of Trajan, the Optimus Princeps, struck during the period of his fifth consulship. The obverse bust type, showing the emperor laureate, draped, and cuirassed, seen from behind, is a less common and highly distinctive variety, emphasising Trajan’s martial authority and personal gravitas.

The reverse depicts Ceres, goddess of grain and fertility, holding corn ears and a torch, a type directly alluding to Trajan’s celebrated alimenta programme, which secured the grain supply and established measures for the welfare of Italy’s children. Together with the lofty title OPTIMO PRINCIPI (“best of princes”), formally conferred on Trajan by the Senate, this coin embodies the ideology of a ruler cast as both victorious general and beneficent guardian of Rome’s prosperity.

Condition: An attractive piece, with a bold and mature portrait. Minor marks and a scrape on the reverse, otherwise Good Very Fine.

Provenance: Ex Glendining, 3 December 1929, lot 159. Illustrated in Calicó, Aurei 996a.