Trajan, 98-117, Denarius

Trajan, Denarius, AR, 98–117 AD (Rome, c. AD 103–111), 3.22 g, 19 mm. Laureate head right; IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P. Reverse legend S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIP, from the SPQR Optimo Principi series. Struck at Rome on the standard denarius module for Trajan’s COS V issues. RIC II 218.

This issue belongs to the extensive SPQR “Optimo Principi” series that expresses a senatorial dedication to Trajan as “best princeps.” The obverse titles record honors from his German and Dacian victories and place the coin in the period of his fifth consulship, aligning it with the years following the Dacian Wars when the regime emphasized concord with the Senate and the stabilization of imperial governance at Rome.