Trajan, 98-117, Denarius

Trajan (AD 98–117), Denarius, AR, Rome, AD 103–111, 3.41 g, 19 mm. Obverse: IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P; laureate head of Trajan right. Reverse: S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI; type from the SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI series with a standing personification. Struck at Rome; surfaces noted as suspicious. Reference: RIC II Trajan 167.

This SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI series reflects the Senate’s formal commendation of Trajan as “best of princes,” a theme widely propagated in his coinage after the Dacian wars. The obverse legend records his victories in Germania and Dacia and his fifth consulship, dating the issue to the years before his eastern campaigns. These denarii promoted cooperative messaging between Senate and emperor while showcasing civic and military virtues through standardized personifications.