Trajan AE Sestertius, Victory inscribing VIC DAC, Rome, AD 103-111, RIC 527

Trajan, Sestertius, Bronze, AD 98–117; struck AD 103–111, 25.9 g, 33 mm. Rome mint. Obverse: IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P; laureate head of Trajan right, drapery on left shoulder. Reverse: S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI around; S C in field; Victory standing right, naked to the waist, left foot on helmet, holding stylus in right hand and with left hand placing/inscribing a round shield on a trophy, the shield inscribed VIC DAC. Centered strike on a broad flan with full legends. Cited: RIC II Trajan 527.

This issue commemorates Trajan’s conquest of Dacia in the campaigns of AD 101–102 and 105–106. The obverse honors his Germanic and Dacian victories (GER DAC) and his fifth consulship; the reverse shows Victory inscribing a shield marked VIC DAC, explicitly advertising the Dacian victory and the creation of the province in 106. The legend OPTIMO PRINCIPI reflects the senatorial title granted in 103, and S C denotes senatorial authority over bronze coinage. The series publicized Roman control along the Danube and the outcomes of the Dacian wars that reshaped imperial finances and building programs.