Trajan Orichalcum Dupondius RIC II Trajan 626

Monetary Context and Denominational Function

During the High Roman Empire, the dupondius filled an essential middle tier in the Imperial monetary system. Valued at two asses, or half of a sestertius, the denomination enabled everyday retail commerce, petty market exchanges, and municipal transactions across Rome and the provinces. Unlike the as, which was struck in relatively pure copper, the dupondius was minted in orichalcum, a golden-hued copper-zinc brass alloy. By the reign of Trajan, the visual convention established during the early Principate had hardened into absolute rule: the emperor wore a radiate crown on dupondii, ensuring immediate visual differentiation from the laureate as, even after surface wear or patina obscured the bright metallic color of the brass. RIC II Trajan 626 belongs to the period between AD 112 and AD 114, following Trajan's assumption of his sixth consulship. This era represented the apogee of Trajanic public building programs, including the Forum of Trajan and the Basilica Ulpia, financed significantly by the spoils of the Dacian Wars. The abundant issue of base metal denominations during this interval serviced extensive state expenditures while asserting ideological themes of public welfare, peace, and abundance to the empire at large.

Production and Mint Organization

RIC II Trajan 626 was produced entirely by the imperial mint at Rome, which held the primary responsibility for the emission of official senatorial-marked aes coinage throughout the western empire. The production of orichalcum coinage involved careful preparation of brass flans, which were cast in mold trees or individually prepared before being struck between engraved iron or bronze dies. Due to the rapid pace of striking and the extensive scale of output during Trajan's later reign, dies experienced significant wear, leading to slight diagnostic variations in flan thickness, centering, and relief across surviving specimens. Weight standards for the dupondius under Trajan centered nominally around 12 to 14 grams, with diameters typically spanning 26 to 28 millimeters, though deliberate flan adjustment by mint workers was somewhat broad. The senatorial letters S C on the reverse of RIC II Trajan 626 preserve the formal constitutional tradition of Senatus Consulto, signifying senatorial decree for base-metal production, though physical operational control of the mint rested firmly within the emperor's bureaucratic administration.

Obverse Iconography and Variations

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 626 features a mature, dignified portrait of the emperor Trajan, oriented right. In accordance with standard denomination protocols for the dupondius, he is depicted wearing a radiate crown, whose spiked rays evoke the solar imagery of Sol and provided an unmistakable indication of the denomination's value. The portraiture belongs to the later phases of Trajanic iconography, characterized by a realistic profile, prominent straight nose, firm chin, and hair brushed forward in flat, straight locks over the forehead. In terms of dress, standard cataloguing distinguishes portraits that are either wholly bare-necked or show light drapery resting across the far left shoulder. This minor drapery variant reflects individual die-engraver choices within the central workshops at Rome rather than an intentional change in typological classification or substantive imperial program.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse type of RIC II Trajan 626 portrays Felicitas, the personification of divine favor, blessedness, and civic happiness. She is depicted standing facing left, attired in a flowing stola and palla that fall in classical drapery folds to her feet. In her right hand, raised upright, she holds a winged caduceus, the traditional emblem of Mercury representing commercial prosperity, concord, and peaceful enterprise. Resting within her left arm is an overflowing cornucopia, representing agricultural bounty, material wealth, and the fruitfulness of the Roman state. The letters S C are arranged symmetrically in the lower field, divided to the left and right of the standing figure. The iconography of Felicitas holding the caduceus and cornucopia was an enduring staple of imperial propaganda, chosen to reassure the populace that the martial victories achieved by the emperor abroad translated directly into peace, security, and economic blessing at home.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The legends on RIC II Trajan 626 are executed in clear Roman square capitals and convey both imperial ideology and dating criteria. The obverse legend reads IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P, presented in the dative case (Imp[eratori] Caes[ari] Nervae Traiano Aug[usto] Ger[manico] Dac[ico] P[ontifici] M[aximo] Tr[ibunicia] P[otestate] Co[n]s[uli] VI P[atri] P[atriae]). The dative formulation reflects an honorary dedication to the emperor by the Senate and people of Rome. The inclusion of COS VI explicitly anchors the coin to Trajan's sixth consulship, which commenced on January 1, AD 112, while the military cognomina Germanicus and Dacicus highlight his victorious campaigns along the Rhine and Danube. On the reverse, the legend reads FELICITAS AVGVST, an abbreviation for Felicitas Augusti or Felicitas Augusta, celebrating the good fortune and success inherent to the emperor's rule, accompanied by the senatorial authorization formula S C (Senatus Consulto).

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard reference classification of The Roman Imperial Coinage, type RIC II Trajan 626 is placed within the aes coinage minted at Rome during the interval of AD 112 to 114. Trajan entered his sixth consulship in AD 112 and did not take another before his death in AD 117. Later in AD 114, the imperial titulature on coins began incorporating the title Optimus, followed subsequently by Parthicus as the eastern campaigns advanced. Because RIC II Trajan 626 features COS VI but lacks the honorific title Optimus in its obverse legend, numismatic scholars universally restrict the issue to the early window of the sixth consulship, ending in AD 114. In his comprehensive study of Trajan's coinage (Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus), Bernhard Woytek groups these issues into the major striking phases preceding the Parthian expedition, confirming that RIC II Trajan 626 represents a cohesive, well-defined catalogued type distinct from earlier COS V emissions and subsequent post-114 types.

Circulation and Archaeological Context

Dupondii of Trajan, including RIC II Trajan 626, circulated extensively throughout the western and Danubian provinces as well as the Italian peninsula. As an integral component of the empire's everyday base metal medium, these coins were heavily utilized in market transactions, military pay disbursements, and commercial travel. Archaeological find records from Britain, Gaul, the German frontiers, and Hispania demonstrate that Trajanic orichalcum dupondii remained active in circulation for several decades, often staying in use through the Antonine era and beyond until sustained wear smoothed their relief. Hoards from military vici and urban settlements across the Rhine and Danube limes frequently contain examples of Trajan's COS VI bronze and brass coinage, illustrating the widespread distribution and enduring economic utility of the type throughout the second century AD.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume III: Nerva to Hadrian. Trajan Aes Catalogue
2. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. Chapter IV: The Imperial Coinage
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II Trajan 626. ric.2.tr.626
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 289, no. 626
5. Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117). MIR 14