Trajan, AD 98-117. Silver denarius, Rome mint, struck AD 100

Trajan, AD 98-117. Silver denarius, Rome mint, struck AD 100; 19 mm, 3.39 g, 6 h. IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GERM – laureate head of Trajan right ▸ P M TR P COS III P P – Victory enthroned left, head right, holding patera in extended right hand and palm-branch in left. RIC 41; BMC 77; Cohen 223; Woytek 85a. Sharply struck with silvery lustre and clear legends

Issued during Trajan’s third consulship, these early denarii celebrate Rome’s first Dacian successes: the seated Victory offers libations in thanksgiving while clasping the palm of triumph, advertising the new emperor’s military credentials to Senate and people alike. Trajan would soon embark on his second Dacian campaign (AD 101-102), and this coinage helped finance and publicise the effort that ultimately secured the empire’s richest new province and filled the fiscus with Dacian gold.