Trajan Restored Gold Aureus RIC II Trajan 821

Monetary Context and the Restored Coinage

The restored gold aureus cataloged as RIC II Trajan 821 was produced against the backdrop of Trajan's comprehensive currency reorganization in the middle of his reign. Following the Dacian Wars, massive quantities of captured bullion entered Rome, enabling major public works and civic distributions. In roughly 107 AD, Trajan undertook the withdrawal of worn pre-Neronian silver denarii and early imperial gold pieces that had continued to circulate alongside newer issues. To commemorate the historical coinages being retired and to demonstrate filial piety toward imperial predecessors, Trajan authorized an extraordinary suite of restored issues (nummi restituti). These coins revived classical republican family types as well as landmark imperial emissions from Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius, Galba, Vespasian, and Titus. In issuing RIC II Trajan 821, the administration deliberately recalled the standard gold aureus design of Tiberius, situating Trajan within the unbroken continuity of imperial authority and honoring Julio-Claudian statecraft.

Production, Minting, and Metrology

Production of RIC II Trajan 821 was concentrated exclusively at the principal imperial mint in Rome. Unlike the Julio-Claudian originals upon which its design was patterned, which were struck at approximately 7.8 grams under Augustus and Tiberius before Nero's metrological reform in 64 AD, Trajan's restored aureus conformed strictly to the contemporary Trajanic standard. Under this system, gold aurei were struck at approximately 1/45th of a Roman pound, with standard theoretical weights around 7.2 to 7.3 grams of exceptionally pure gold. Engravers at the Rome mint executed the dies with refined early second-century craftsmanship, carefully copying the obverse iconography of Tiberius while employing contemporary Trajanic epigraphic styles and imperial titic conventions.

Obverse Iconography

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 821 exhibits the laureate head of Tiberius facing right. The portrait closely mirrors the mature effigy developed during Tiberius's reign, characterized by classical proportions, a straight nasal bridge, and neatly arranged locks of hair bound by a laurel wreath. By featuring the deceased emperor's likeness on the obverse rather than his own, Trajan subordinated his immediate presence on the coin face to the historical monument being recalled. This design choice distinguished the restored series from normal imperial issues, transforming the coin into an explicit historical citation of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

Reverse Iconography and Design Elements

The reverse depicts a draped female figure seated facing right on a high-backed or plain chair, holding an upright long sceptre in her right hand and an olive branch or flower in her left hand. The figure rests her feet upon a low footstool, matching the ubiquitous seated deity on Tiberius's primary aureus and denarius types. In classical numismatic literature, this figure is conventionally interpreted as Pax, the personification of peace, or as Livia depicted in the guise of Pax or Ceres. Surrounding this central device is the extensive reverse titulature of Trajan, concluding with the explicit designation REST, which signals the restorative act of the minting emperor.

Epigraphy and Legend Readings

The obverse legend reads TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, reproducing the authoritative formula of Tiberius, signifying 'Tiberius Caesar, son of the Divine Augustus, Augustus.' The reverse bears Trajan's formal imperial titulature: IMP CAES TRAIAN AVG GER DAC P P REST. This expands to Imperator Caesar Traianus Augustus Germanicus Dacicus, Pater Patriae, Restituit ('Imperator Caesar Trajan Augustus, conqueror of the Germans, conqueror of the Dacians, Father of his Country, restored [this coin]'). The titles Germanicus and Dacicus place the emission securely after Trajan's first Dacian triumph in 102 AD, while the crucial epigraphic element REST defines the conceptual character of the entire series.

Typology and Chronological Placement

RIC II Trajan 821 is cataloged among the specialized group of restored aurei produced during the second half of Trajan's reign. Bernhard Woytek's systematic corpus of Trajanic coinage assigns the emission of the restored aurei to approximately 107 AD (Woytek MIR 58), coordinating closely with the recoinage notice preserved by Cassius Dio. The type is distinct from the related restored bronze coinage, which focused primarily on Julio-Claudian divi and earlier sestertii, as well as from the restored denarii celebrating republican moneyers. Trajan's restoration of Tiberius's gold issue stands alongside companion aurei restoring Julius Caesar, Augustus, Claudius, Galba, Vespasian, and Titus, forming an organized dynastic retrospect.

Circulation, Function, and Surviving Evidence

Unlike standard commercial aurei of Trajan, which circulated heavily throughout the empire and beyond its frontiers, restored aurei like RIC II Trajan 821 survive in extraordinarily small numbers. Their tight die linkages and absence from ordinary hoard compositions indicate that they were not struck for broad commercial circulation. Instead, numismatists recognize them as prestige issues, produced as special presentations, imperial gifts, or ceremonial commemoratives distributed to senatorial elites, military commanders, or civic dignitaries during festivities celebrating the Dacian triumphs and the renewal of Rome's monetary legacy.

References

1. The Restored Coinage of Trajan. pp. 1-45
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 312, no. 821
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II Trajan 821. ric.2.tr.821
4. Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117). Moneta Imperii Romani 14. MIR 14, no. 58