Trajan Bronze As, RIC II Trajan 417

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

Under the Roman Principate, the monetary system inherited from Augustus balanced high-value precious metal coinage with an extensive series of base-metal denominations. The as served as the practical benchmark of daily cash accounting, valued at one-quarter of a brass sestertius, one-half of a dupondius, and one-sixteenth of a silver denarius. While higher-value denominations carried significant purchasing power suited for tax payments, military stipends, and large commercial transactions, the copper-alloy as accommodated mundane expenditures such as everyday market purchases, modest service fees, and local labor compensation. When Trajan assumed full control of the state following the death of Nerva in January AD 98, he maintained the structural standards of the early imperial aes coinage. Struck in essentially pure copper or related bronze-like alloys, the as maintained an expected theoretical weight standard in the range of 10 to 12 grams. The continued production of this fractional denomination early in Trajan's reign ensured currency liquidity in the capital and Western provinces while simultaneously providing a visual medium for early imperial state propaganda.

Production Standards and Minting

RIC II Trajan 417 was minted exclusively at the imperial mint in Rome. During the late first and early second centuries AD, the Rome mint operated under a highly structured administrative hierarchy oversaw by the equestrian procurator monetae, supported by specialized artisans including engravers (scalptores), blank castors (flaturarii), and striking crews (signatores and suppostores). Blanks for copper asses were cast in gang molds or prepared from hammered metal strips before being struck between engraved iron or bronze dies. Production tolerances for base-metal denominations were evaluated en masse (al marco) rather than on an individual specimen basis (al pezzo), leading to natural variations in flan thickness, diameter, and weight across the issue. Asses of this type generally span diameters between 26 and 28 millimeters, with die axes frequently aligning at six o'clock or twelve o'clock according to regular mint practices. The physical fabric exhibits the typical characteristics of Rome mint bronze striking: crisp portrait engraving, consistent typographic lettering, and broad flans accommodating complete peripheral legends.

Obverse Iconography

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 417 presents an idealized yet distinct portrait of the emperor Trajan. Engraved in high relief, the portrait shows the emperor's head facing right, adorned with a laurel wreath tied at the nape of the neck with fluttering ribbons. Stylistically, early portraits of Trajan struck in AD 98-100 still reflect transitional sculptural tendencies from the Flavian and Nervan eras, characterized by a low forehead, straight nose, firm jawline, and neatly brushed hair falling in straight locks over the brow. Unlike later issues that depict the emperor wearing a paludamentum or cuirass, this specific type presents the imperial head bare-necked, focusing visual attention on civil dignity and constitutional propriety. Surrounding the portrait is the clockwise peripheral legend IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GERM P M, which begins at the lower left and frames the portrait field with minimal abbreviation breaks.

Reverse Iconography and Design

The reverse iconography of RIC II Trajan 417 centers on Victory (Victoria), an enduring personification of Roman military fortune and divinely sanctioned triumph. Victory is shown in motion, draped in a flowing chiton and advancing toward the left. In her left arm or resting against her shoulder, she supports a palm branch, symbolizing athletic and military success. In her extended right hand, she holds an inscribed votive shield resting against her hip or knee, upon which the letters SPQR are inscribed. The inclusion of the shield bearing the dedication of the Senate and People of Rome ties the martial prowess of the emperor directly to civic legitimacy. Flanking the lower fields of the composition are the bold letters S and C, affirming the traditional decree of the Senate. The design reflects an optimistic anticipation of imperial victory and security during the opening years of the reign, preceding the outbreak of the First Dacian War.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The epigraphy of RIC II Trajan 417 provides vital chronological and political evidence. The obverse inscription reads IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GERM P M, expanding to Imperator Caesar Nerva Traianus Augustus Germanicus, Pontifex Maximus. This formula documents Trajan's full adoption name, his imperial titles, the victory title Germanicus conferred under Nerva in late AD 97, and his status as supreme priest. The reverse legend continues his administrative and constitutional positions: TR POT COS III P P S C, representing Tribunicia Potestate, Consul Tertium, Pater Patriae, Senatus Consulto. The recording of his third consulship firmly fixes the introduction of this type to AD 100, or late AD 99 in anticipation of entering the office on January 1, AD 100. The term Pater Patriae, accepted by Trajan in AD 98, emphasizes his paternal duty to the Roman commonwealth, while the prominent S C reiterates that base-metal production continued under nominal senatorial oversight.

Typology and Chronological Placement

In the modern classification system established by Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham in Roman Imperial Coinage, this type is catalogued as RIC II Trajan 417. In Bernhard Woytek's specialized corpus of Trajanic coinage (MIR 14), it is integrated into the third consular emission of the Rome mint. Chronologically, the type occupies a narrow production window between late AD 99 and the end of AD 100. Trajan entered his third consulship on January 1, AD 100, and retained this numeral on his coinage until assuming his fourth consulship on January 1, AD 101. Minor die variations exist within this catalogued type, involving slight differences in the posture of Victory, the angle and shape of the SPQR shield, and the precise spacing of the letters within the reverse legend breaks. However, all variations adhere strictly to the defining attributes of the laureate right head and the advancing Victory with shield and palm.

Circulation and Archaeological Context

Aes coinage struck at Rome enjoyed broad circulation across Italy and the European provinces of the empire, particularly along the Rhine and Danube frontiers where military presence generated high cash velocity. Asses bearing early Trajanic titulature circulated actively alongside surviving Flavian and Nervan copper coins, gradually replacing worn Julio-Claudian pieces that had circulated for decades. Archaeological findspots from military vici, legionary bases, and civilian urban settlements throughout Britannia, Gallia, Germania, and Raetia attest that asses of Trajan remained in circulation well into the mid-second century AD. Over prolonged periods of usage, the soft copper alloy suffered from mechanical wear, often effacing the delicate lettering of the SPQR inscription on Victory's shield while leaving the primary portrait and figure outlines identifiable. Hoard contexts containing mixed aes demonstrate that Trajanic bronze coins were accepted throughout the western Mediterranean until systemic currency reforms and inflation in the third century AD prompted their eventual withdrawal.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. III: Nerva to Hadrian. Trajan, Aes issues of COS III
2. RIC II Trajan 417. ric.2.tr.417
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II: Vespasian to Hadrian. Trajan 417
4. Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117) (MIR 14). Moneta Imperii Romani 14