Trajan Gold Aureus, RIC II Trajan 255

Monetary Context

During the reign of Trajan, the gold aureus functioned as the highest unit of value in the Roman monetary system, legally tariffed at 25 silver denarii or 100 sestertii. Following the conquest of Dacia in AD 106, the Roman treasury absorbed immense quantities of captured precious metals, which stimulated an expansive program of recoinage, public subventions, and monumental construction in Rome. Trajan systematically retired older, worn pre-Neronian denarii and aurei from circulation, replacing them with freshly struck imperial coinages of consistent weight and fineness. Within this fiscal environment, aurei served primarily for large-scale state transactions, military distribution, aristocratic savings, and civic benefactions. The issue of RIC II Trajan 255 coincided directly with the culmination of these civic investments, rendering the coin an active medium for disseminating imperial ideological achievements across administrative and provincial elites.

Production and Mints

The entire production of RIC II Trajan 255 was executed at the primary imperial mint in Rome. Mint operations of this era were organized into standardized officinae, where skilled die-engravers rendered intricate architectural compositions onto hardened bronze or iron dies. Aurei of this series were struck on carefully prepared flans cast to meet the imperial gold standard established under Nero, which yielded an average weight around 7.2 to 7.3 grams, representing approximately 1/45 of a Roman pound. Production required careful calibration of metal purity, which consistently exceeded 98 to 99 percent fine gold. Die alignment for imperial gold issues of this period typically followed a regular six-o'clock or twelve-o'clock orientation, reflecting the strict quality control practiced by the monetarii at the capital.

Obverse Design

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 255 presents a mature, heroic bust of Emperor Trajan facing right. He is depicted wearing a laurel wreath, tied at the back of the neck with fluttering ribbons. Stylistic treatments range from an unadorned neck and truncation to variants showing light drapery over the far shoulder or a fully draped and cuirassed bust, depending on the particular hand of the engraver. The portraiture embodies the realistic, dignified verism associated with Trajan's later issues: a firm jawline, straight low-bridged nose, and hair combed flatly forward over the brow. This iconography visualizes the emperor as Optimus Princeps, projecting austere authority, civic duty, and military commander status without the overt Hellenistic stylization of Julio-Claudian antecedents.

Reverse Design

The reverse displays a detailed architectural rendering of the entrance gateway to the Forum of Trajan. The structure is depicted as a grand triumphal facade, commonly interpreted by architectural historians either as the triumphal propylaeum leading into the forum's central court or as the facade of the Basilica Ulpia. The lower level consists of a hexastyle columned portico with pedimented niches framing statues of captive Dacians and military figures. Above the entablature sits a massive attic story dominated by a central statue group depicting Trajan in a triumphal chariot drawn by six horses, flanked by standing figures of Victory, trophies of arms, and subsidiary deities. In the exergue beneath the building base, the inscription FORVM TRAIAN securely identifies the civic complex.

Legends and Epigraphy

The obverse legend reads IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P, rendered in uninterrupted concentric epigraphy around the perimeter. Expanding as Imperatori Traiano Augusto Germanico Dacico, Pontifici Maximo, Tribunicia Potestate, Consuli Sextum, Patri Patriae, the text records Trajan's supreme titles, his victory titles for victories in Germania and Dacia, his chief priesthood, his tribunician authority, his sixth consulship, and his designation as Father of His Country. The reverse legend is succinct, reading FORVM TRAIAN across the exergue, abbreviating Forum Traianum. The epigraphy displays the monumental letterforms characteristic of Trajanic stone carving, characterized by balanced proportions and sharp serifs.

Types and Chronology

RIC II Trajan 255 is dated through Trajan's epigraphic record. The designation COS VI marks Trajan's entry into his sixth and final consulship on January 1, AD 112, providing a secure terminus post quem. The Forum of Trajan was formally inaugurated in January AD 112, followed closely by the dedication of the Column of Trajan in May AD 113. The absence of the title Optimus as a formal cognomen, which was officially decreed by the Senate in late summer AD 114, establishes a secure terminus ante quem. In Bernhard Woytek's comprehensive monograph 'Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus' (MIR 14), these architectural issues are classified under group 14 (struck AD 112 to 114). While parallel issues were struck in silver (denarii) and bronze (sestertii), RIC 255 specifically distinguishes the aureus denomination bearing this entrance design.

Circulation and Survival

Due to their high intrinsic value, Trajanic aurei circulated within specialized financial channels and were frequently hoarded as capital reserves. Unlike bronze issues that circulated locally, gold coinage moved freely across the Roman Empire and occasionally beyond its military frontiers through high-level commerce and diplomatic gift exchange. RIC II Trajan 255 was struck in limited numbers compared to generic imperial virtues or victory types, making preserved examples uncommon today. Surviving specimens show that many were hoarded during the second century AD, preserving sharp architectural relief, though some circulated long enough to exhibit light edge wear and minor abrasion typical of gold bullion handling.

References

1. The Trajanic Mint at Rome: Organization and Output. pp. 143-168
2. The Monuments of Trajan in Rome: A Numismatic and Architectural Study. pp. 85-110
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 262, no. 255
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II Trajan 255. ric.2.tr.255
5. Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117) (Moneta Imperii Romani 14). MIR 14, no. 388