Trajan Silver Denarius, RIC II Trajan 243

Monetary Context and the Alimenta

During the reign of Trajan, the Roman denarius functioned as the primary silver denomination of the empire, circulating alongside imperial aurei in gold and an extensive suite of orichalcum and bronze base-metal denominations. Following the conclusion of the Dacian Wars in AD 106, the Roman treasury experienced a substantial influx of precious metals. Around AD 107, Trajan carried out a major monetary reform, recalling heavily worn pre-Neronian Republican denarii and slightly lowering the silver fineness of newly minted denarii to around eighty-nine to ninety percent, with a target weight near 3.2 to 3.3 grams. This reform allowed the Rome mint to expand currency output dramatically. Among the key domestic programs funded during this period was the Alimenta Italiae, an institutional scheme initiated under Nerva and expanded by Trajan. The program provided low-interest mortgages to Italian landowners, with the interest hypothecated to support the maintenance and education of freeborn boys and girls in Italian municipalities. RIC II Trajan 243 was struck specifically to celebrate this philanthropic institution, translating imperial policy into tangible, portable propaganda.

Production and Minting at Rome

All genuine specimens of RIC II Trajan 243 were produced by the imperial mint in the city of Rome. By the early second century AD, the Rome mint was a highly structured industrial enterprise, organized into multiple officinae (workshops) staffed by skilled engravers, flan casters, and moneyers under the supervision of equestrian procurators. Flan production for denarii involved casting globular silver blanks which were subsequently hammered into planchets and struck while warm between hand-cut iron dies. Engravers at Rome maintained a high standard of mechanical execution and portrait fidelity, ensuring consistent weight tolerances and uniform alignment of legends. Because the Alimenta denarii formed a substantial commemorative issue within the larger sixth-consulship coinage, die studies show that multiple die pairs were cut and used in parallel. Although minor differences in flan size and die engraving exist across specimens, the underlying typology, die layout, and stylistic treatment remain consistent with the regular output of the Rome mint during this period.

Obverse Typology and Imperial Iconography

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 243 exhibits a realistic, mature portrait of Trajan facing right. He is depicted wearing a laurel wreath, the ribbons of which fall down the back of his neck, with light drapery gathered over his left shoulder. Trajan's portraiture during his sixth consulship represents the culmination of his mature 'decennalia' and post-decennalia style, characterized by a firm jaw, prominent nose, straight hair brushed forward onto the forehead, and deeply set eyes. This stylistic rendering rejected the elaborate, idealized hair arrangements of the Flavians in favor of a stern, disciplined, and soldierly appearance that recalled the virtues of the late Roman Republic. The addition of subtle drapery on the far shoulder breaks the starkness of a plain head, lending an aura of imperial dignity without adopting the full military cuirass. Die engravers carefully adjusted the scale of the portrait to leave ample space around the perimeter for Trajan's lengthy epigraphic titulature.

Reverse Iconography: Abundantia and the Child

The reverse design of RIC II Trajan 243 provides an explicit visual allegory for the Alimenta program. It depicts the personification Abundantia (frequently associated in contemporary scholarship with Annona or the personified Alimenta itself) standing draped and facing front, with her head turned to the left. In her right hand, she holds two ears of corn (wheat) extended downward over the head of a small figure standing at her left side. In her left arm, she cradles a cornucopia, representing agricultural bounty and state prosperity. The smaller figure is a child, shown standing front, head turned right toward the goddess, holding a small scroll (rotulus or volumen) in the left hand. The scroll signifies legal entitlement, municipal registration, or the documented distribution lists of freeborn children eligible for state assistance. The interaction between the maternal, towering figure of Abundantia and the diminutive child visually communicates the protective and nourishing role of the emperor toward the future citizens and soldiers of Roman Italy.

Epigraphy and Legend Analysis

The legends on RIC II Trajan 243 are composed in clear Latin capital script and reflect the constitutional titles of the princeps alongside the specific decree of the Senate. The obverse legend reads IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P, expanding as Imperatori Traiano Augusto Germanico Dacico, Pontifici Maximo, Tribunicia Potestate, Consuli VI, Patri Patriae. This sequence commemorates Trajan's supreme military command (Imperator), his dynastic standing (Augustus), his victories in Germany and Dacia (Germanicus, Dacicus), his religious supremacy as chief priest (Pontifex Maximus), his civil authority (Tribunicia Potestate), his sixth consulship (Consul VI), and his paternal guardianship over the state (Pater Patriae). The reverse legend reads S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, expanding to Senatus Populusque Romanus Optimo Principi ('The Senate and People of Rome to the Best of Princes'), with ALIM ITAL positioned in the exergue beneath the ground line. The exergual abbreviation stands for Alimenta Italiae, explicitly identifying the imperial endowment celebrating Italian grain and financial relief.

Typology and Chronological Placement

The chronological envelope for RIC II Trajan 243 is strictly bounded by Trajan's consular renewals and the addition of later titles. Trajan entered his sixth and final consulship on January 1, AD 112, establishing a firm terminus post quem for any issue bearing the title COS VI. In the autumn of AD 114, following victories in Armenia, Trajan was officially granted the honorary title of Optimus as an official cognomen, and shortly thereafter Parthicus, which subsequent coin legends invariably incorporate. Because RIC II Trajan 243 includes COS VI but lacks Optimus within the primary obverse title formula and does not mention Parthicus, it belongs securely to the production interval between early AD 112 and mid-114. In Bernhard Woytek's standard die and corpus study of Trajanic coinage (MIR 14), this denarius is catalogued under issue group 345, belonging to the high-volume commemorative issues celebrating Trajan's civic monuments, including the Forum, the Basilica Ulpia, and the Aqua Traiana.

Circulation and Hoard Evidence

As an official silver denarius of the high empire, RIC II Trajan 243 circulated widely across both Italy and the provinces. Although the reverse message was primarily directed at an Italian audience, the unified nature of the Roman monetary economy ensured that these denarii traveled with legionary movements and commercial transactions along major trade arteries into the western provinces, the Danube frontier, and the Levant. Hoard evidence from Britain, Gaul, the Rhine, and the Balkans regularly features Trajanic denarii of the sixth consulship, often showing signs of sustained circulation lasting well into the Severan era. Because Trajan's silver standard remained dependable relative to subsequent devaluations under Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, and Septimius Severus, these coins were frequently hoarded and preserved. Over time, circulation wear smoothed high points such as the hair curls, wreath ties, and the delicate facial features of the child on the reverse, but legible surviving specimens confirm the broad distribution of this iconic reverse type throughout the empire.

References

1. The Economy of the Roman Empire: Quantitative Studies. pp. 288-310
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 261, no. 243
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II Trajan 243. RIC II Trajan 243
4. Die Reichspragung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117) (MIR 14). MIR 14, no. 345