Trajan Orichalcum Dupondius, RIC II Trajan 587

Monetary Context and Denominational System

During the High Roman Empire, the monetary system functioned on a bimetallic and trimetallic structure established under Augustus and refined during the Flavian dynasty. Within this hierarchy, the dupondius occupied a vital intermediate position in base-metal everyday transactions, valued at two asses, half a sestertius, or one-eighth of a silver denarius. While the sestertius served as the principal large-denomination brass coin and primary vehicle for elaborate state propaganda, the dupondius and as managed daily retail trade, market operations, and military stipends. From the mid-first century AD onward, Roman mint administration consistently utilized metal alloy and imperial portrait conventions to prevent confusion between the dupondius and the as. While asses were typically struck in unalloyed red copper, dupondii were manufactured in orichalcum, a golden-toned copper-zinc brass alloy. Because surface patination or heavy wear in circulation could obscure the visual distinction between orichalcum and copper, the imperial mint applied the radiate crown to portraits of the emperor on the dupondius, leaving the laureate wreath to the as. In RIC II Trajan 587, this diagnostic radiate crown unmistakably marks the piece as a dupondius, establishing its tariff and denominational identity across provincial and Italian commercial channels.

Production and Mint Organization

RIC II Trajan 587 was struck exclusively at the central imperial mint in Rome. Under the early Principate, the mint was situated on the Caelian Hill following the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64, functioning under the oversight of imperial procurators and freedmen alongside the hereditary senatorial board of tresviri monetales. Bronze and brass coin production during Trajan's reign operated at massive scale, fueled by the vast influx of bullion and captured material wealth resulting from the conquest of the Dacian kingdom. Flans for the issue were prepared through casting in multi-cavity open or bivalve molds, yielding thick, circular or slightly irregular planchets that were subsequently trimmed and cold- or warm-struck between hand-carved steel dies. Weights for Trajanic dupondii during this era generally centered around 11.5 to 13.5 grams, with typical diameters ranging between 26 and 28 millimeters, though deliberate individual weight precision was secondary to overall batch weight quotas per Roman pound (libra). Die alignment for this Rome mint series routinely adheres to an approximate six o'clock (median inverse) orientation, a hallmark of disciplined minting standards overseen by official scalptores and signatores.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 587 bears a right-facing portrait of Trajan characterized by sober realism and idealized imperial vigor. The emperor is rendered with his distinct short-cropped, straight-fringed coiffure, a prominent Roman nose, a firm chin, and a muscular neck. Unlike early portraits that adhered closely to the classicizing, elderly visage of Nerva, portraits of the mid-reign reflect the heroic, martial princeps who led legions in person along the Danubian limes. In accordance with the typological definition of RIC II 587, the bust is radiate and draped across the left shoulder, with fabric gathered and pinned or folded forward to convey readiness and civic-military dignity. The spikes of the radiate solar crown project crisply through the imperial hair, symbolizing divine favor, solar association, and clear denominational status. Engravers at Rome achieved exceptional plastic depth in modeling the jawline, ear, and drapery folds, demonstrating the artistic peak of early second-century Roman numismatic portraiture.

Reverse Iconography and Triumphal Symbolism

The reverse of the type features a classic Roman trophy (tropaeum), a preeminent symbol of battlefield victory and subjugation. The trophy is mounted upon a central wooden post or trunk, outfitted with captured barbarian armor. The assembly consists of a crested helmet, an anatomically modeled military cuirass, and captured shields arranged along the central axis, specifically one round shield and one oblong oval shield. At the base of the trophy post, set symmetrically or angled across the exergue line, rest two oblong oval shields of Celtic or Dacian indigenous patterns. This elaborate accumulation of arms directly alludes to the disarming of King Decebalus's forces and the territorial pacification of Dacia following the grueling campaigns of AD 101 to 102 and 105 to 106. Flanking the lower composition are the large letters S and C, denoting Senatus Consulto, the historic affirmation that this bronze issue was struck pursuant to a senatorial decree, thus integrating the Senate's gratitude into the imperial celebration of military triumph.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The obverse inscription encircles the portrait in continuous capital lettering: IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P. Rendered in the ablative or dative dedicatory construction common to Trajan's middle coinage, the legend honors Imperator Caesar, son of the deified Nerva, Trajanus Augustus, conqueror of the Germans (Germanicus) and Dacians (Dacicus), Pontifex Maximus, invested with Tribunician Power, Consul for the fifth time, and Pater Patriae. The inclusion of Germanicus and Dacicus underscores his two primary foreign conquests, while COS V provides a vital terminus post quem of AD 103. The reverse legend reads S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, completed by the field inscription S C. This title, Senatus Populusque Romanus Optimo Principi ("The Senate and the Roman People, to the Best Princeps"), is central to Trajan's ideological program. Formally bestowed by the Senate around AD 103, the title Optimus Princeps celebrated the ruler's civil moderation, piety, and military excellence. The dedication explicitly casts the coinage as an honoring of the emperor by the civic commonwealth rather than a unilateral imperial decree.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Within the typology of the Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC II Trajan 587 belongs to the broad group of bronze and brass issues struck under the fifth consulship (COS V), specifically situated between AD 103 and 111 before Trajan assumed his sixth consulship in AD 112. Bernhard Woytek's detailed chronological sequencing in Die Reichspragung des Kaisers Traianus (MIR 14) further refines this window, associating the extensive Dacian trophy series with the aftermath of the Second Dacian War, predominantly between AD 107 and 110 when triumphal monuments such as the Tropaeum Traiani at Adamclisi and Trajan's Column were actively commissioned or celebrated. RIC 587 is part of a parallel typological suite struck across multiple denominations, including sestertii, asses, and denarii, all bearing variants of the trophy design. The exact type RIC 587 is defined by its specific combination of attributes: dupondius denomination, radiate bust draped on the left shoulder, and a trophy featuring one round shield, one oblong shield, and two oblong shields at the base. Minor die variations exist in the precise angle of the shields and the positioning of the reverse legend breaks, but the core iconographic elements remain unified throughout its official production span.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Site Finds

As an official base-metal denomination of the central Roman state, dupondii of RIC II Trajan 587 circulated widely across Italy and the western provinces. Findspots in Britannia, Gallia, the Germanies, and along the Danubian frontier demonstrate that base-metal coinage struck at Rome was routinely dispatched in significant consignments to supply regional commerce and pay legionary and auxiliary forces stationed along border garrisons. Hoards and site excavations reveal that Trajanic orichalcum coinage experienced extensive longevity in circulation. Due to its solid intrinsic composition and regulated tariff, brass coinage of this period frequently remained in active use for decades, occasionally surviving in western circulation into the third century AD until the severe inflationary debasements under the Severans and the soldier emperors displaced classical aes denominations. Heavy surface wear on many surviving specimens corroborates widespread, continuous transactional utility.

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 587. ric.2.tr.587
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 285, no. 587
4. Untersuchungen zur romischen Reichspragung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil I: Reichspragung zur Zeit des Traian. pp. 110-125
5. Die Reichspragung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117). Moneta Imperii Romani 14