Trajan Bronze As, RIC II Trajan 522

Monetary Context and Denominational System

During the principate of Trajan, the Roman imperial monetary system maintained the bimetallic and base-metal structure established under Augustus. Within this framework, base-metal coinage fulfilled an indispensable everyday role. While gold aurei and silver denarii handled state-level expenditures, elite wealth storage, and military pay, base-metal denominations enabled retail commerce and daily market transactions across urban and rural economies. The as functioned as the standard unit of account for small-scale exchange, valued at four sestertii to the denarius, two dupondii to the sestertius, and two asses to the dupondius. A single denarius was thus tariffed at sixteen asses. While the larger sestertius and radiate dupondius were manufactured from orichalcum (a bright brass alloy composed of copper and zinc), the as was traditionally struck in relatively pure copper, giving it a distinctive reddish hue and differing physical properties. Under Trajan, the imperial administration initiated substantial fiscal and monetary adjustments, including the eventual demonetization and recall of worn Republican and early Julio-Claudian silver denarii around AD 107. Fractional base-metal coinage, including issues such as RIC II Trajan 522, played a stabilizing role during these reforms by maintaining predictable liquidity in local markets. The vast volume of copper coinage issued throughout Trajan's fifth consulship reflects deliberate imperial state expenditure, fueled in part by the immense influx of bullion following the successful subjugation of Dacia.

Mint Operations and Technical Production

RIC II Trajan 522 was produced exclusively at the central imperial mint of Rome, the primary facility responsible for struck base-metal token denominations distributed throughout Italy and the western provinces. In this period, the Rome mint was organized into specialized working divisions, often termed officinae, which coordinated the preparation of flans, engraving of dies, and striking operations. The technical standard for the copper as under Trajan targeted a nominal weight standard between approximately 10.0 and 11.5 grams, with typical diameters ranging between 26 and 28 millimeters, though individual specimens demonstrate normal variations inherent in ancient manual flan casting and striking. Flans for copper asses were cast in gang molds, frequently resulting in slight bevels along the flan edges. Once annealed to achieve sufficient malleability, the blank copper flan was placed between an anvil die and a hand-held punch die before receiving one or more forceful hammer blows. The die axes for this type conform predominantly to a regular six o'clock (inverted) or twelve o'clock alignment, typical of the disciplined production habits of the second-century Rome mint. Metallurgical analyses of contemporary asses confirm a reliance on unalloyed copper, distinguishing them clearly from the zinc-bearing brass employed for contemporary dupondii of similar size.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 522 presents a right-facing bust of Trajan executed in the mature, sober verism that defines the emperor's official portraiture. The emperor is depicted wearing a laurel wreath, the traditional symbol of victorious command, with tie ribbons trailing behind the neck. In contrast to simpler varieties of the issue featuring a bare neck or draped shoulders alone, the specific bust type catalogued under RIC II Trajan 522 includes both drapery and a military cuirass visible at the base of the neck and across the shoulder. This cuirassed presentation deliberately emphasized Trajan's identity as imperator and supreme military commander (optimus imperator). His facial features display the characteristic Trajanic iconography established by court sculptors: a straight, low-bridged nose, firm chin, tightly compressed lips, and low-cut hair combed forward across the forehead in straight strands. This portraiture consciously broke away from the perceived excesses of the Flavian dynasty, instead evoking the austere dignity of Republican models combined with the idealized composure of the Augustan principate.

Reverse Design and Iconographic Symbolism

The reverse of RIC II Trajan 522 depicts the goddess Victory (Victoria) moving gracefully toward the left. In her outstretched right hand, she holds an open laurel wreath ready to crown an unseen victor, while in her left hand she cradles a palm frond angled upwards over her shoulder. Her draped tunic billows around her legs, emphasizing brisk forward momentum. Flanking the lower figure across the left and right fields are the large letters S and C, denoting the constitutional sanction of the Senate. Victory with wreath and palm represents one of the most enduring motifs in Roman numismatics, but under Trajan, it held immediate contemporary resonance. The imagery directly commemorated the hard-fought campaigns of the Dacian Wars, celebrating Roman expansion and the restoration of military supremacy along the Danubian limes. The juxtaposition of Victory with the senatorial formula SC underscored the shared celebration of imperial success, portraying the triumphs of the princeps not as personal aggrandizement, but as achievements dedicated to the security and glory of the Roman commonwealth.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The obverse legend reads IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, inscribed continuously along the perimeter starting from the lower left. This formula provides a complete catalog of Trajan's imperial titles in the dative case, indicating that the coin was dedicated to the emperor. It opens with Imperator Caesar, followed by his filiation to the deified Nerva (NERVAE), his personal cognomen Traianus, and the title Augustus. The military victory titles Germanicus (GER) and Dacicus (DAC) follow, referencing victories on the Rhine (AD 97) and in Dacia (AD 102). His institutional offices conclude the legend: Pontifex Maximus (supreme priest), Tribunicia Potestate (holder of tribunician power), Consul Quintum (consul for the fifth time), and Pater Patriae (father of his country). The reverse inscription features the famous legend S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, representing the phrase Senatus Populusque Romanus Optimo Principi ('The Roman Senate and People to the Best of Princes'). This honorific formula was officially voted to Trajan by the Senate around AD 103 or 104 in recognition of his civic moderation, justice, and military triumphs. In the lower field, the letters S C abbreviate Senatus Consulto ('By decree of the Senate'), affirming the traditional senatorial authority over the striking of base-metal coinage in Rome.

Typology and Chronological Classification

RIC II Trajan 522 occupies a clearly defined position within the chronological sequence of Trajan's coinage. The presence of COS V and the absence of COS VI firmly anchors the issue between AD 103, when Trajan assumed his fifth consulship, and late AD 111, prior to his sixth consulship which commenced on January 1, AD 112. Furthermore, the inclusion of the title DAC confirms a date after late AD 102, while the reverse formula OPTIMO PRINCIPI indicates striking after the Senate's formal bestowal of this title circa AD 103 to 104. In his comprehensive corpus Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus, Bernhard Woytek refined the broad chronological window provided by the original Roman Imperial Coinage. Woytek classifies the SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI series into successive striking phases, demonstrating that extensive issues of middle bronze denominations bearing the Victory walking left motif were produced in massive quantities particularly between AD 107 and 108, following the triumphant conclusion of the Second Dacian War and the reorganization of the Roman treasury. RIC II Trajan 522 is distinguished specifically by its combination of the laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right with the walking Victory reverse, separating it from neighboring types that feature laureate head only, draped bust without cuirass, or different reverse attributes.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Archaeological Context

Archaeological excavation finds and stray coin losses across Europe demonstrate that copper asses of Trajan circulated intensively and over extended periods. Because asses were base-metal everyday coins, they are rarely found in the large precious-metal savings hoards that dominate numismatic study of imperial wealth. Instead, they appear consistently in site finds from Roman military garrisons, auxiliary forts, urban fora, bath complexes, and rural villa settlements. Along the Rhine and Danube frontiers, Trajanic asses formed the backbone of military petty cash, used by legionaries and auxiliaries to purchase daily rations, equipment, and personal services from local canabae. Site finds from Britannia, Germania Superior, Germania Inferior, Pannonia, and Moesia illustrate that these coins remained in active circulation for decades, frequently accumulating heavy wear that erased the outer legends while leaving the central portrait and Victory silhouette faintly identifiable. Some specimens recovered from western provincial sites show evidence of countermarking or prolonged secondary use well into the Antonine and Severan eras, attesting to the durable utility of Trajan's copper currency long after his death.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume III: Nerva to Hadrian. pp. 176-177
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II Trajan 522. RIC II Trajan 522
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 281, no. 522
4. Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117), Moneta Imperii Romani 14. MIR 14, nos. 200-210