Trajan, 98-117. Sestertius (Orichalcum, 36 mm, 25.39 g, 6 h), Rome, circa 112-114. IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P Laureate and draped bust of Trajan to right, seen from behind. Rev. [PORTVM TRAIANI / S] C The basin of the port of Trajan, octagonal in shape, bordered on seven sides by colonnaded warehouses; in the center, three boats. BMC 770A corr. (obverse legend) and p. 205 note. Cohen 306. RIC 632. Woytek 470v. Very rare and of great historical interest. Lovely turquoise patina. Areas of weakness and with a thin flan crack and minor spots of corrosion, otherwise, fine.



Trajan’s Harbour at Portus, built in the early second century, was one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects of the Roman Empire. Designed as an inland hexagonal basin behind the earlier harbour of Claudius, it offered ships far greater protection from storms and silting than the exposed coastline at Ostia. Its main purpose was strategic and economic: to secure the grain supply of Rome, whose population depended heavily on imports from North Africa, Egypt, and Sicily. Warehouses, canals, roads, and administrative buildings turned Portus into the logistical heart of imperial Rome, linking Mediterranean trade directly with the Tiber and the capital. The harbour also shows how Roman engineering served political power, since control over food supply was essential to maintaining order in the city.