Trajan Orichalcum Dupondius, RIC II Trajan 570

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

During the reign of Trajan, the imperial monetary system continued the bimetallic and base-metal balance stabilized under the Flavian dynasty. The dupondius occupied a key mid-level position in daily cash transactions, valued at two asses or half a sestertius, and one-eighth of a silver denarius. The dupondius was traditionally struck in orichalcum, a golden-toned copper-zinc alloy that distinguished it from the pure copper as, while the radiate crown worn by the emperor provided an immediate iconographic identifier for users to differentiate it from the laureate as of similar physical diameter. Issued under the traditional senatorial rubric signified by the letters S C (senatus consulto), RIC II Trajan 570 participated in the massive reminting and expenditure programs fueled by the spoils of the Dacian Wars, providing essential change for domestic markets and troop remuneration.

Production and Mint Organization

RIC II Trajan 570 was manufactured exclusively at the imperial mint of Rome, which handled virtually all regular base-metal striking for the western half of the Empire during the high principate. The Rome mint operated under organized workshops (officinae), which handled engraving, flan casting, striking, and quality control. Dies for this issue reflect the high standard of mechanical execution and artistic precision characteristic of Trajan's middle reign. Flans were cast in orichalcum before being struck by hand between upper and lower iron dies. The heavy demand for coinage celebrating the conclusion of the Dacian Wars required extensive die production, though surviving specimens of the bridge dupondius remain considerably scarcer than corresponding bridge sestertii.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 570 depicts the mature portrait of Trajan facing right, wearing a radiate crown that signifies both the dupondius denomination and solar majesty. Classical Roman portraiture under Trajan departs from the ornate Flavian style, presenting the emperor with sober, heroic realism: combed-forward hair, firm jaw, straight nose, and low forehead. Light drapery is arranged over the left shoulder, leaving the throat and chest mostly bare in the heroic style. The portrait is encircled by a continuous imperial inscription enclosed within an outer border of dots.

Reverse Iconography and Architecture

The reverse type presents an architectural rendering of the Danube bridge, constructed near Drobeta and Kladovo by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus around AD 103 to 105 to facilitate troop movements during the Second Dacian War. The coin depicts an arched, single-span wooden superstructure resting on massive stone piers, reinforced with vertical and diagonal wooden lattice trusses. Below the span, the river is shown with water currents, upon which a small transport boat is moored or navigating to the right. Flanking the scene are the letters S C in the field, confirming senatorial sanction. This coin offers one of the few contemporary visual records of one of antiquity's greatest bridge-building achievements, celebrating romanitas expanding beyond natural river barriers.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The obverse legend reads IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, expanding to Imperatori Caesari Nervae Traiano Augusto Germanico Dacico, Pontifici Maximo, Tribunicia Potestate, Consuli Quintum, Patri Patriae. This extensive titulature records Trajan's adopted lineage from Nerva, his victory titles in Germania and Dacia, his supreme pontificate, tribunician authority, fifth consulship, and the title Father of the Country. The reverse bears the famous formula S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI (Senatus Populusque Romanus Optimo Principi), translating to 'The Senate and the Roman People to the Best of Princes,' flanked by S C for Senatus Consulto. The epithet Optimus Princeps had been formally bestowed by the Senate, celebrating the emperor as the exemplary civil and military leader.

Typology and Chronological Placement

Chronologically, RIC II Trajan 570 is fixed between AD 103 and 111 by the appearance of COS V on the obverse, indicating Trajan's fifth consulship entered in January 103, and the absence of COS VI, which was assumed on January 1, 112. The title Dacicus dates the type after late AD 102, while the construction of the Danube bridge itself spanned AD 103 to 105, suggesting that the initial emission occurred either during or immediately following the successful completion of the span. In Bernhard Woytek's classification of Trajan's coinage (MIR 14), this issue forms part of the large post-Dacian bronze emissions of the mid-100s AD. Parallel types were produced in the larger sestertius denomination (RIC 569), sharing the same reverse architectural motif but providing greater surface area for detailed die cutting.

Circulation and Archaeological Context

Base-metal dupondii struck at Rome circulated widely across Italy and the western provinces, including Gaul, Hispania, Britain, and along the Rhine-Danube military frontiers. Because of the durable orichalcum alloy and substantial mass, dupondii remained in active circulation for decades, frequently showing heavy wear in archaeological findspots dating to the mid-to-late second century AD. While bridge sestertii are relatively well known from urban and military excavations, RIC II Trajan 570 dupondii appear in lower overall frequencies in site finds and hoards, reflecting both the smaller initial mint output of dupondii relative to asses and sestertii, and the selective hoarding of heavier bronze denominations.

References

1. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 284, no. 570
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II Trajan 570. ric.2.tr.570
3. Untersuchungen zur romischen Reichspragung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil I: Trajan. pp. 112-116
4. Die Reichspragung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117), Moneta Imperii Romani 14. MIR 14, nos. 314-315