TRAJAN, 98–117. AV Aureus

TRAJAN, 98–117. AV Aureus (21 mm, 7.03 g), Rome, circa 113–114. IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. Rev. CONSERVATORI PATRIS PATRIAE, Jupiter standing left, holding sceptre in left hand and thunderbolt in extended right over the head of a small figure of Trajan standing left, holding branch in right hand and short sceptre in left. C 46 var. (not cuirassed); BMC 494; RIC 249 var. (not cuirassed); CBN 737; Woytek 428f-2; Calicó 991. Very rare.

Struck at the height of Trajan’s reign, this remarkable aureus presents the emperor in full military and civic authority, his finely modeled portrait reflecting the confident realism of early 2nd-century Roman engraving. The reverse offers a rare and highly symbolic scene: Jupiter, chief of the gods, extends divine protection over Trajan, depicted in diminutive form as the "Father of the Fatherland" (Pater Patriae). This image reinforced the emperor’s legitimacy and divine favor during a period of expansive building programs, military success, and consolidation of Rome’s eastern frontiers. Well centered and sharply struck on a broad flan, with impressive detail and superb preservation.