Trajan Orichalcum Sestertius, RIC II Trajan 666

Monetary and Historical Context

During the middle and late reign of Trajan, the Roman monetary system rested upon the trifold framework established by Augustus and adjusted under the Flavians, in which gold aurei, silver denarii, and brass or bronze token denominations circulated in fixed, bimetallic and trimetallic ratios. The sestertius, valued at four copper asses or one-quarter of a silver denarius, was the primary large-denomination base-metal coin of the empire. Struck from orichalcum (a golden-hued copper-zinc brass alloy), the sestertius presented the broadest physical surface area of any circulating Roman denomination. Because of its generous module, imperial administrators and mint magistrates systematically utilized the sestertius as a visual canvas for state communication, triumphal displays, and imperial policy announcements intended for domestic and provincial audiences. RIC II Trajan 666 emerges directly from the geopolitics of Trajan's Parthian War, initiated around AD 113 to 114 following the deposition of the pro-Roman ruler of Armenia by the Parthian king Chosroes (Osroes I). Trajan advanced eastward to stabilize Armenia, transform it into a direct Roman province, and subsequently campaign down the Tigris and Euphrates into Mesopotamia, taking Seleucia and Ctesiphon. The issue of coins celebrating regional pacification and imperial dominion served to assure the Senate and the Roman public that the costly eastern campaigns were culminating in permanent geopolitical settlements. The sestertius was an ideal vehicle for this messaging, offering both substantial purchasing power across Italian and Western urban markets and high civic visibility among soldiers, merchants, and administrative elites.

Production Standards and Minting

RIC II Trajan 666 was produced exclusively at the central imperial mint in Rome. In the early second century AD, the Rome mint was a highly structured bureaucratic and artisanal operation staffed by imperial slaves, freedmen, and engravers organized under the supervision of the procurator monetae. Bronze and brass coin production required heavy screw or hammer-struck machinery capable of generating sufficient pressure to impress deep reliefs across broad planchets. Planular blanks for this issue were cast in clay or stone molds, producing round or slightly elliptical flans that were subsequently hammered between hand-carved iron dies. Trajanic sestertii of this final period adhere to a nominal weight standard centering roughly around 25.0 to 28.0 grams, with typical diameters ranging between 32 and 35 millimeters, although individual surviving examples inevitably show deviation due to manual flan adjustment, casting variances, and subsequent mechanical wear. The metal composition for the sestertius in this era was nominally orichalcum, though declining zinc supplies across the second century occasionally resulted in variable ternary bronze alloys containing lead and tin alongside copper and zinc. Die alignment for the issue typically clusters around an upright or slightly inverted axial orientation (conventional 6 o'clock or 12 o'clock die positions), consistent with the disciplined workshop practices of the Rome mint.

Obverse Iconography

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 666 features a dignified right-facing portrait of Trajan. The emperor is depicted as mature, commanding, and severe, reflecting the realistic yet idealized portraiture developed for his Decennalia and Vicennalia milestones. His hair is combed forward in straight, orderly locks across the forehead in accordance with the distinctive Trajanic hairstyle that consciously avoided Flavian flamboyance in favor of traditional Republican gravitas. Trajan wears the laurel wreath, the ancient symbol of martial triumph and civic salvation, tied at the nape of his neck with fluttering ribbons. His bust is draped, with drapery gathered over the left shoulder, though some die variations may reveal glimpses of a cuirass underneath. The depiction conveys imperial majesty without ostentation, presenting the emperor as both a victorious general (imperator) and the premier servant of the commonwealth (civilis princeps). The die engraving on this series displays crisp rendering, deeply cut portrait features, and prominent facial lines that reflect the ruler's advanced age near the conclusion of his reign.

Reverse Iconography and Composition

The reverse of RIC II Trajan 666 presents an elaborate narrative tableau commemorating Trajan's formal allocation of eastern client kingdoms. The composition is arranged in two distinct spatial tiers to emphasize political hierarchy. Trajan sits in military attire on a curule chair or sella castrensis atop a high, stepped platform (tribunal or suggestum) placed on the right side of the field. The emperor faces left, bare-headed and dressed in cuirass and paludamentum, holding a spear in his left hand while extending his right hand in an authoritative gesture of allocutio or investiture. Beside or behind the emperor on the elevated tribunal stand two figures: a military prefect (traditionally interpreted as the praetorian prefect) and a Roman legionary carrying a spear or vexillum. Below the platform on the left stand three foreign monarchs, representing the client kings of regional territories such as Armenia, Mesopotamia, or neighboring buffer realms. The foremost king approaches the dais with an outstretched hand, bowing slightly to receive his diadem, mantle, or charter of authority, while the two kings behind him observe the investiture in respectful postures. The scene borrows from traditional imperial adventus, adlocutio, and congiarium formulas, adapting the ceremonial vocabulary of public generosity to the geopolitical subordination of barbarian monarchs under Roman majesty.

Epigraphy and Legend Analysis

The obverse legend of RIC II Trajan 666 is one of the most comprehensive epigraphic sequences found on Roman imperial coinage: IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC PARTHICO P M TR P COS VI P P. Translated from the ablative-dative honorific formula, it reads: 'To the Emperor Caesar, son of Nerva, Trajan, the Best Augustus, conqueror of the Germans, the Dacians, and the Parthians, Pontifex Maximus, holder of the Tribunician Power, Consul for the sixth time, Father of the Fatherland.' The inclusion of the title 'Parthico' provides an absolute terminus post quem, as Trajan was voted this victory title by the Senate only in early AD 116 following the capture of Ctesiphon. The reverse legend is concise and thematic, reading REGNA ADSIGNATA in the upper circumference, complemented by the letters S C (Senatus Consulto) positioned in the exergue beneath the tribunal. The phrase 'Regna Adsignata' translates to 'The kingdoms having been assigned' or 'The assignment of the kingdoms.' In contrast to the bellicose titles of the obverse, the reverse focuses upon the administrative and diplomatic resolution of war, framing conquest as an act of orderly governance and regal conferral. The prominent S C affirms senatorial ratification, reflecting the nominal authority of the Senate over the issuance of brass and copper coinage even while celebrating an exclusively imperial military achievement.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard reference classification of Harold Mattingly and Edward Sydenham, this coin is designated as RIC II Trajan 666. Within Bernhard Woytek's comprehensive monograph 'Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus' (MIR 14), the type belongs to the final chronological phase of Trajan's coinage, catalogued under issue groups dating between the spring of AD 116 and the emperor's death in August AD 117. Typologically, RIC II Trajan 666 is closely related to two other political narrative issues struck during the same late-war period: the 'Parthia Capta' and 'Rex Parthis Datus' series. While 'Rex Parthis Datus' specifically commemorates the installation of Parthamaspates on the Parthian throne at Ctesiphon, 'Regna Adsignata' possesses a broader scope, symbolizing the broader restructuring of multiple kingdoms across the eastern frontier. Minor die varieties of RIC II Trajan 666 exist in museum collections, chiefly differing in the precise placement of the kings relative to the tribunal, the angle of Trajan's spear, and subtle differences in bust truncation (such as drapery seen from the back versus drapery draped across the shoulder), but all share the primary iconographic scheme and identical legends.

Circulation, Hoarding, and Survival

As an orichalcum sestertius, RIC II Trajan 666 was primarily issued to meet domestic administrative and commercial needs, circulating widely throughout Roman Italy and the western provinces of Gallia, Hispania, Britain, and the Germanies. Large bronze coinage did not regularly circulate in the eastern provinces, which maintained their own regional civic and provincial bronze currencies; consequently, this coin functioned primarily to broadcast news of eastern victories to western civilian populations. Sestertii of the late Trajanic period circulated for decades, often remaining in active transactions through the reigns of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. Extensive circulation frequently resulted in significant wear, obscuring the delicate details of the reverse figures and smoothing the high points of Trajan's portrait. Specimens discovered in archaeological contexts and hoards across Europe typically display moderate to heavy wear patterns, with fully legible examples bearing intact reverse legends and clear figure outlines being particularly valued in modern institutional collections. The historical specificity of the 'Regna Adsignata' motif makes it an essential anchor point for archaeologists and historians reconstructing the chronological trajectory of Roman monetary propaganda during the climax of the empire's territorial expansion.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume III: Nerva to Hadrian. p. 222, nos. 1043-1044
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II Trajan 666. ric.2.tr.666
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 291, no. 666
4. Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117) (MIR 14). Type 590