Trajan Copper-Alloy As, RIC II Trajan 402

Monetary Context and Denominational Function

In the early imperial monetary system, the copper-alloy as functioned as the standard workhorse unit for retail transactions and everyday accounting across the empire. Valued at one-fourth of a brass sestertius, one-half of a dupondius, and one-sixteenth of a silver denarius, the as accommodated small everyday expenses such as local foodstuffs, public bath admissions, and daily wages. Under Trajan, the Roman state maintained the Augustan denominational framework while sustaining high production levels of base-metal coinage to facilitate monetary liquidity in urban centers and military settlements. The issue catalogued as RIC II Trajan 402 belongs to the opening phase of Trajan's principate, produced between AD 98 and AD 99. Striking these coins enabled the imperial administration to disseminate the emperor's visual identity and political messaging rapidly while replenishing the volume of low-denomination change circulating throughout Rome and the western provinces.

Production Standards and Mint Attribution

The entire series of RIC II Trajan 402 was struck at the principal imperial mint in Rome. Mint operations of this era relied on manual flan preparation and hand-hammering between upper and lower dies. The alloy used for imperial asses during this period was nominally pure copper, distinguishing them in composition, redder coloration, and physical weight from the orichalcum or brass alloys reserved for sestertii and dupondii. Official target weights for Trajanic asses generally clustered between 9.5 and 11.5 grams, with typical diameters ranging between 26 and 28 millimeters, although normal flan variability and hand-striking caused individual specimens to deviate above or below this range. Die alignment usually followed an approximate six o'clock or twelve o'clock orientation, consistent with standard imperial workshop discipline at the capital.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 402 features a right-facing, laureate head of Trajan. The portraiture belongs to the earliest stylistic group of Trajan's reign, often described by numismatists as the accession or transitional style. Because Trajan remained on the northern frontier along the Rhine and Danube when Nerva died in early AD 98, die cutters at the Rome mint initially adapted the severe, realistic facial conventions established under late Flavian and Nervan rule. The image presents a clean-shaven portrait characterized by straight hair combed forward onto the forehead, a prominent nose, and a muscular neck. The laurel wreath encircling the head represents both military victory and divine favor, while the surrounding peripheral legend encloses the imperial likeness.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse iconography depicts the personification of Victory advancing toward the left. Draped in classical garments that flow around her limbs to suggest purposeful forward movement, she carries a palm branch over or alongside her left arm as an emblem of triumph and martial peace. In her outstretched right hand, she supports a round or oval shield inscribed with the letters SPQR, an abbreviation for Senatus Populusque Romanus. Flanking the lower fields to the left and right of Victory are the large letters S C, signifying Senatus Consulto. The combination of Victory with the senatorial shield and the senatorial decree highlights harmony between the military commander, the Senate, and the Roman citizenry during the transition of executive power.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The inscriptions on RIC II Trajan 402 provide precise chronological and ideological evidence. The obverse legend reads IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GERM P M, abbreviating Imperator Caesar Nerva Traianus Augustus Germanicus Pontifex Maximus. This formula documents Trajan's adoption by Nerva, his supreme command, the victory title Germanicus conferred in late AD 97, and his appointment as chief priest of the Roman state religion. The reverse legend continues with TR POT COS II P P, standing for Tribunicia Potestate, Consul Iterum, Pater Patriae. The absence of an iterative number after TR POT indicates his first tribunician term, while COS II marks his second consulship, which commenced on January 1, AD 98. The title Pater Patriae confirms his formal acceptance of the traditional patriotic honor early in his reign.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard reference framework of Roman Imperial Coinage, this issue is classified under RIC II Trajan 402, corresponding to the initial issue period of AD 98 to 99 before Trajan entered his third consulship on January 1, AD 100. In Bernhard Woytek's specialized corpus Moneta Imperii Romani (MIR 14), early Trajanic bronze types are arranged chronologically by consular iterations and minor legend variations. RIC 402 is typologically distinct from later asses where Trajan's title changes to COS III or COS IIII, as well as from contemporary issues where Victory is represented standing still, erecting a trophy, or engraving a shield hung on a tree trunk. Variations within this specific type primarily involve slight differences in portrait truncation, laurel wreath ties, and letter spacing across individual die pairs.

Circulation Patterns and Monetary Life

Asses produced at the Rome mint under Trajan circulated extensively throughout Italy and the western provinces, including Gaul, Hispania, Britain, and the military zones along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Archeological findspots from domestic settlements, military forts, and religious votive deposits demonstrate that base-metal asses remained in everyday circulation for decades, frequently surviving until the mid to late Antonine period. As a result of prolonged transactional use, surviving specimens of RIC II Trajan 402 typically exhibit moderate to heavy surface wear. Hoard evidence from western Europe indicates that bronze asses functioned as stable small change, circulating side by side with older Flavian issues until gradual wear and subsequent debasement cycles reduced their prominence in daily commerce.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. III: Nerva to Hadrian. pp. 149-151
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 275, no. 402
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II Trajan 402. ric.2.tr.402
4. Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117). MIR 14