Trajan Bronze As, RIC II Trajan 459 (as)

Monetary Context and the Alimenta Initiative

During the early second century AD, the Roman monetary system functioned on a bimetallic and base-metal hierarchy anchored by the silver denarius and gold aureus. Within everyday retail commerce, copper-alloy denominations carried the primary burden of small-scale market transactions. The as was valued at four per sestertius, two per dupondius, and sixteen per denarius, making it an indispensable medium for common purchases, modest wages, and urban markets. Under Trajan, bronze and brass issues frequently served as broadsheets for domestic civil programs alongside military commemorations. Type RIC II Trajan 459 (as) belongs to an extensive series celebrating the expansion of the imperial alimenta system. Formally instituted on an empire-wide legislative footing under Nerva and systematically organized under Trajan, the scheme functioned by issuing imperial mortgage loans to Italian landowners. The modest interest accrued from these rural estates was redirected to local municipal treasuries to provide subsistence stipends for freeborn boys and girls throughout Italy. By featuring the explicit legend ALIM ITAL on a low-denomination coin like the as, the imperial administration ensured that the message of state-sponsored child welfare permeated every tier of the Roman population, reinforcing civic stability and future military recruitment.

Mint of Rome and Production Standards

The entire regular bronze output for RIC II Trajan 459 (as) was concentrated at the central mint of Rome. In contrast to the brass orichalcum used for the sestertius and dupondius, the Roman as in this period was traditionally struck on unalloyed copper or a low-tin copper alloy, giving the coins their characteristic reddish hue when freshly cast and struck. Blank planchets were cast in molds and struck hot or cold between engraved steel dies, often yielding a standard six o'clock or twelve o'clock die orientation typical of Trajan's imperial coinage. While the nominal weight standard for the Trajanic as hovered around 10 to 11 grams with a diameter approximating 26 to 28 millimeters, individual planchet tolerances fluctuated significantly in base-metal production. Unlike the precious-metal aurei and denarii, which were closely monitored for intrinsic metal value, fractional copper coinage operated with a substantial fiduciary value. The presence of the formulaic S C on the reverse records the formal approval of the Senate (Senatus Consulto), maintaining the Augustus-era tradition of senatorial jurisdiction over base-metal minting even as actual executive control remained firmly under the imperial administration.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 459 (as) presents the mature bust of Trajan facing right. The emperor is depicted wearing the laurel wreath, the classic Roman emblem of military victory and civil preeminence, with the ties of the wreath trailing behind the neck. The bust treatment includes drapery over the left shoulder, a subtle stylistic variation that softens the bare neck without presenting full military cuirassing. Artistically, this type illustrates the classicizing realism characteristic of Trajan's middle reign, often described in scholarship as the decennalia portrait style. The features are sharply defined: a broad forehead, heavy brow, planar cheeks, and straight-combed hair cut squarely across the brow in an archaizing military fashion. This visual presentation decisively moved away from the ornate, expressive Flavian portraiture toward a sober, stoic physiognomy. The image projected gravitas, duty, and disciplined military competence, reassuring both the senatorial aristocracy and the Roman public of the emperor's steady civic governance.

Reverse Iconography: The Alimenta Italiae Motif

The reverse iconography of this as presents a detailed allegorical scene dedicated to the Italian welfare endowment. A female personification stands facing left, draped in a traditional stola and palla. Numismatic authorities alternate between identifying this figure as Abundantia, the goddess of plenty, Annona, the overseer of the grain supply, or a personification of Italia herself. She cradles a cornucopiae in her left arm, symbolizing the wealth and fertility of the land, while her right hand holds ears of corn extended downward or forward. Standing beside her left foot is a small child, typically described as a freeborn youth holding a roll or rotulus in both hands. The scroll signifies the official registration or legal charter confirming the child's enrollment on the municipal alimenta rosters. Flanking the scene across the fields are the large letters S and C, denoting senatorial authorization. The composition combines the divine abundance of imperial peace with the administrative reality of state-sponsored child maintenance, emphasizing the continuity of the Roman race through generous imperial patronage.

Epigraphy and Titulature Analysis

The obverse perimeter bears the comprehensive titulature: IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P. Expanded, this reads Imperatori Caesari Nervae Traiano Augusto Germanico Dacico, Pontifici Maximo, Tribunicia Potestate, Consuli Quintum, Patri Patriae. The inscription encapsulates Trajan's dynastic lineage from his adoptive father Nerva, his victory titles Germanicus (received late AD 97) and Dacicus (received late AD 102 following his first Dacian campaign), alongside his supreme religious and constitutional offices. The formula COS V indicates that the issue began after his assumption of a fifth consulship on January 1, AD 103. The reverse inscription reads S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI encircling the upper border, with ALIM ITAL positioned horizontally in the exergue beneath the ground line. The overarching phrase Senatus Populusque Romanus Optimo Principi reflects the formal senatorial dedication to the 'Best of Princes', a title awarded to Trajan in acknowledgement of his deference to traditional institutions. The exergual abbreviation ALIM ITAL condenses the phrase Alimenta Italiae, leaving no ambiguity regarding the specific civic initiative being praised.

Typological Variants and Chronological Placement

Typologically, RIC II Trajan 459 (as) forms part of a cohesive emissions program celebrating the alimenta across multiple denominations, including sestertii (such as RIC 460 and 461) and dupondii. The chronologic parameters are established securely between AD 103, when Trajan entered his fifth consulship, and AD 111, the final year before he assumed his sixth and final consulship (COS VI) on January 1, AD 112. Within modern classification frameworks, notably Bernhard Woytek's Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus (MIR 14), these issues are grouped into specific chronological phases of the COS V period, with the alimenta series commonly dated around AD 108 to 111. Minor die variations occur across the type, predominantly concerning the precise rendering of the child's posture, the arrangement of drapery folds on Trajan's shoulder, and the spacing of the exergual legend ALIM ITAL. However, the fundamental composition remains fixed, defining RIC 459 as a distinct catalogue type among Trajan's bronze fractional issues.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Context

Because the alimenta scheme was inherently focused on the welfare of Italy, contemporary scholars have examined whether the ALIM ITAL bronze coinage was intended primarily for domestic circulation within the Italian peninsula. Archaeological recovery paints a more complex picture. While vast quantities of these asses certainly circulated in Rome and Italian market towns, significant numbers entered commercial networks in the western European provinces, including Gaul, Hispania, and the Germanic frontiers. Due to their relatively low purchasing power, copper asses experienced intense, protracted circulation. Hoard evidence and site finds consistently show Trajanic asses remaining in circulation for decades, often exhibiting heavy surface wear and smoothed relief from continuous handling. Many specimens survived in use well into the Antonine and Severan eras, functioning as practical small change long after the historical reality of Trajan's fifth consulship and the initial establishment of his alimenta boards had passed into history.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. III: Nerva to Hadrian. pp. 182-185
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II Trajan 459 (as). ric.2.tr.459_as
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 278, no. 459
4. Untersuchungen zur römischen Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahrhunderts: Teil I, Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Traian. pp. 110-115
5. Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117). MIR 14, pp. 331-335