Trajan, 98-117. Denarius (Silver, 20 mm, 3.01 g, 6 h), Rome, early 113-summer 114. IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P Laureate and draped bust of Trajan to right, seen from behind. Rev. S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI Trajan's Column: column, surmounted by statue of Trajan standing front, holding globe and spear, set on decorated podium and flanked by eagles. BMC 452. Cohen 558. RIC 292. Woytek 425v. Nicely toned. Slightly rough and with a minor spot of corrosion on the reverse, otherwise, very fine.


Trajan's Column was erected on the flank of the Quirinal Hill to commemorate his victory in the Dacian Wars. It consists of seventeen marble drums, each adorned with a frieze approximately three feet wide and 656 feet long, spiraling diagonally around the shaft from its base to its summit twenty-three times. The frieze depicts Trajan's campaigns in Dacia, divided into 165 episodes - half covering the First Dacian War (AD 101-102) and half the Second Dacian War (AD 105-106) - and features more than 2,500 human figures. Surmounting the column, as shown on this coin, was a life-sized statue of Trajan, which disappeared during the Middle Ages and was replaced in 1587 by Pope Sixtus V with a bronze statue of St. Peter. The base of the column contained a sepulcher, depicted here with a doorway and friezes, topped by two eagles, and housing the remains of Trajan and his wife, Plotina.