Trajan Gold Aureus, RIC II Trajan 278 (aureus)

Monetary Context and Imperial Policy

During the middle and later years of Trajan's reign (AD 98 to 117), the Roman imperial monetary system functioned with notable vigor and equilibrium. The successful conclusion of the Dacian Wars in AD 106 had channeled immense quantities of bullion into Rome, dramatically swelling the treasury and enabling extensive public works, triumphal games, and donatives. Within the Augustus-established tri-metallic framework, the gold aureus maintained a fixed tariff of 25 silver denarii or 100 orichalcum sestertii, serving as the ultimate store of value and the principal instrument for international settlements, state-level treasury reserves, and major military outlays. The gold standard established during Nero's reform of AD 64, which fixed the aureus at 1/45 of a Roman pound (libra), remained broadly normative under Trajan, yielding a target mass of approximately 7.28 grams of near-pure gold. While Trajan undertook a comprehensive recoinage of older, worn Republican and early imperial silver denarii around AD 107, the gold coinage retained extraordinary metallurgical integrity, rarely deviating from high purity. Catalogue type RIC II Trajan 278 was struck during Trajan's sixth consulship, an era characterized by institutional self-confidence and fiscal generosity, during which gold aurei were regularly mobilized to reward legions and fund civic infrastructure across the empire.

Production Standards and Mint Organization

The entire regular emission of RIC II Trajan 278 was produced by the imperial mint in the capital city of Rome. Operating under the administrative oversight of the imperial equestrian bureaucracy and staffed by specialized artisans (scalptores, signatores, and malliatores), the Rome mint struck aurei with meticulous quality control. Planchets were carefully cast and weighed before entering the striking chamber, resulting in a much narrower weight distribution than that observed on contemporary bronze or silver denominations. Surviving specimens of this type typically center within the 7.15 to 7.30 gram bracket, with diameters consistently measuring between 19 and 20 millimeters. Dies were aligned manually, often demonstrating the typical second-century upright or near-upright die orientation (frequently around 6 o'clock or 7 o'clock). Engravers of the Trajanic Rome mint achieved an elevated standard of plastic relief during this period; imperial portraits in gold exhibit sophisticated naturalism and sculptural depth, while the reverse figures display balanced anatomical proportion and refined spatial arrangement.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 278 features a right-facing bust of Trajan depicted with laurel wreath, cuirass, and paludamentum (drapery). By the commencement of his sixth consulship in AD 112, the imperial portraiture had evolved beyond the austere, somewhat dry verism of his accession issues into a grander, idealized physiognomy that Bernhard Woytek classifies within the emperor's mature portrait groups. The emperor is rendered with his distinctive straight, combed-forward hair, firm jaw, and aquiline profile, yet the features are imbued with a classical dignity befitting the supreme magistrate of the Roman world. The inclusion of military dress (the cuirass and military cloak) underscores Trajan's role as the supreme commander (imperator) and conqueror of Dacia, while the laurel wreath serves as both a triumphal emblem and a traditional symbol of civic virtue. The drapery is modeled with crisp, undulating folds over the shoulder, contrasting with the smooth planes of the imperial neck and chest armor.

Reverse Iconography: The Genius and the Altar

The reverse iconography of RIC II Trajan 278 represents a classic visual synthesis of Roman state religion and personal imperial virtue. The composition depicts Genius standing naked to the waist, facing left, holding an offering dish (patera) outstretched in his right hand above a low, burning altar, while clasping two ears of corn (corn-ears) directed downwards in his left hand. In Roman religious conception, the Genius embodied the generative divine spirit, whether of the Roman people (Genius Populi Romani), the Senate (Genius Senatus), or the Emperor himself (Genius Augusti). The act of libation over an active altar emphasizes pietas, the conscientious maintenance of the sacred covenant (pax deorum) that ensured Rome's continuous military success and domestic tranquility. The downward-held ears of wheat or barley evoke the bountiful harvests and sustained food supply guaranteed by imperial administration and divine favor. The figure is proportioned along classical Greco-Roman athletic canons, presenting a relaxed contrapposto posture that conveys stability, quiet authority, and enduring prosperity.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The legends on RIC II Trajan 278 convey a comprehensive political message structured around the constitutional relationship between the princeps, the Senate, and the citizenry. The obverse legend reads IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P, which transcribes into the Latin nominative and dative cases: Imperatori Traiano Augusto Germanico Dacico, Pontifici Maximo, Tribunicia Potestate, Consuli Sextum, Patri Patriae. The use of the dative case (Imp Traiano...) functions as an honorific dedication, marking the coin as an expression of homage to the ruler. His military victories are memorialized through the cognomina devictarum gentium 'Germanicus' and 'Dacicus', while his civil authority is signaled by his roles as chief priest (Pontifex Maximus), holder of tribunician power (Tribunicia Potestate), six-time consul (Consul VI), and Father of the Fatherland (Pater Patriae). On the reverse, the legend reads S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI (Senatus Populusque Romanus Optimo Principi), translating to 'The Senate and the Roman People, to the Best Prince'. Awarded early in Trajan's reign, the honorific epithet 'Optimus Princeps' here serves as an encircling motto framing the sacrificing Genius, tying the imperial title directly to the religious and material welfare of the Roman Commonwealth.

Typology and Chronological Placement

In the standard reference corpus The Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC), Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham catalogued this specific aureus under number 278 within Trajan's mint of Rome series. Chronologically, the type is defined by the inclusion of COS VI (assumed on January 1, AD 112) in combination with the reverse formula S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI. In AD 114, the mint transitioned to a new titular scheme wherein 'Optimus' was elevated to an official cognomen placed directly on the obverse legend (OPTIMO AVG), setting the terminus ante quem for RIC 278 in late AD 114. In Bernhard Woytek's modern typology of Trajanic coinage (MIR 14), this issue corresponds to type 384f, produced in parallel with denarii bearing equivalent reverse designs. While closely related variants in gold share the Genius reverse, RIC II Trajan 278 is strictly distinguished by its obverse bust treatment, showing Trajan laureate, draped, and cuirassed facing right. This combination represents an intentional pairing of fully armored martial imagery on the obverse with civil and sacrificial iconography on the reverse.

Circulation, Hoards, and Archaeological Context

Aurei of Trajan struck between AD 112 and 114 circulated extensively across both western and eastern sectors of the Roman Empire, although their practical movement differed considerably from base metal and silver issues. Because a single aureus represented an enormous sum of money, equivalent to roughly one month's gross salary for a legionary soldier, these gold coins did not participate in day-to-day petty marketplace commerce. Instead, they were held in institutional vaults, accumulated by aristocratic families, or carried across provincial borders by long-distance merchants and military commanders. Trajanic aurei frequently appear in major imperial gold hoards deposited throughout Italy, Gaul, Britain, and the Danubian frontiers, often remaining in circulation for decades alongside issues of the Flavians, Hadrian, and the Antonines due to their consistent purity. Archaeological find-spots and worn hoard specimens indicate that these pieces continued to be accepted at full bullion value well into the third century AD, until the severe debasement of the silver coinage and subsequent gold monetary reforms disrupted the traditional Antonine-era circulation patterns.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum. Vol. III: Nerva to Hadrian. pp. 91-92
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II Trajan 278 (aureus). ric.2.tr.278_aureus
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage. Vol. II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 265, no. 278
4. Untersuchungen zur römischen Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil I: Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Traian. no. 195
5. Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117). MIR 14, no. 384f