Trajan, AD 98-117, Denarius

Trajan, Denarius, AR, AD 98–117; struck at Rome, c. AD 103–111; 3.45 g, 19 mm. Obv: IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P; laureate head of Trajan right. Rev: COS V P P S P Q R OPTIMO PRINC; Victory standing left, placing shield on a trophy; captive seated at base; rare type. Struck at Rome on standard imperial silver fabric for the period. RIC II Trajan 116.

The obverse legend records Trajan’s German and Dacian victories alongside his priestly and tribunician powers, while the reverse cites his fifth consulship and pater patriae and names the Senate and People of Rome (SPQR) styling him “Optimo Princeps.” The Victory-and-captive motif refers to the Dacian Wars (AD 101–106), and the presence of COS V places the issue after AD 103, within Rome’s denarius series emphasizing the military successes and public honors that defined the mid-reign phase of Trajan’s rule.