Trajan Silver Denarius, RIC II Trajan 147B

Monetary Context and Historical Background

Trajan's silver denarius issues of his fifth consulship reflect the immense political and financial transformations that characterized Rome in the early second century AD. Following the conclusion of the First and Second Dacian Wars (AD 101 to 102 and 105 to 106), massive quantities of bullion flowed from the captured Dacian royal treasuries into the imperial coffers. This influx of precious metal funded an ambitious campaign of public building, civic benefactions, and commemorative coinage. The denarius served as the operational backbone of Roman civic commerce and military pay. Denarii of this period were struck at a theoretical standard close to 3.3 grams with a fineness hovering around eighty to eighty-five percent silver, following the standard established under the Flavian dynasty and Domitian's later reforms. The issue of RIC II Trajan 147B situated Trajan's military success within the traditional civic framework, presenting martial victory not as autocratic dominion but as an achievement executed for the welfare of the Roman Commonwealth.

Production and Mint Organization

The coin was produced exclusively at the central imperial mint in Rome, which operated under the administrative oversight of the imperial equestrian procurator monetae. During Trajan's fifth consulship, the Rome mint expanded its output significantly to process bullion from Dacia and to strike vast commemorative series. Production relied on traditional manual striking methods, wherein blank silver planchets were cast, heated, and struck between engraved bronze or iron dies. Die-cutters maintained rigorous stylistic conventions, producing balanced proportions and clean, classicizing portraiture typical of the Optimo Principi period. Scholars such as Bernhard Woytek have demonstrated that the mint organized output across several distinct officinae (workshops), ensuring systematic control over weight, alloy, and design consistency across millions of struck pieces.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 147B features a right-facing bust of Trajan. The emperor is shown wearing the laurel wreath of victorious imperator, with drapery visible over his far shoulder or around the base of the neck, catalogued technically as laureate and draped right. This drapery distinguishes sub-variety 147B from the bare-necked laureate variety 147A. The portrait style is characterized by Trajan's distinctive low, straight hairline combed forward, a prominent aquiline nose, firm jawline, and serious, determined expression. This physiognomy departs from the hyper-idealized Julio-Claudian style or the heavy realism of the Flavians, presenting an image of sober military virtue, gravitas, and civic responsibility appropriate for an emperor acclaimed as the best of rulers.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse design of RIC II Trajan 147B is dominated by a Dacian arms trophy (tropaeum). The trophy is constructed on a vertical wooden post and displays captured Dacian military equipment: five shields of distinct northern forms, an indigenous sword, and two javelins. In Roman religious and military custom, the tropaeum was consecrated on the battlefield from the arms of defeated foes to thank the gods for victory. By translating this field monument into precious metal, the Rome mint provided an unambiguous visual catalogue of the conquered enemy's weaponry. Unlike reverse types showing mournful captive Dacians seated beside the trophy, the standalone trophy composition focuses entirely on the total disarmament of Dacia and the triumph of Roman arms.

Epigraphy and Legend Analysis

The legends on RIC II Trajan 147B are struck in clean, high-classical imperial capitals and provide a chronological and ideological framework for the issue. The obverse legend reads IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P, which expands epigraphically to Imperatori Traiano Augusto Germanico Dacico, Pontifici Maximo, Tribunicia Potestate. This legend establishes his supreme military command (Imperator), imperial rank (Augustus), earned victory titles in Germany (Germanicus) and Dacia (Dacicus), chief priesthood (Pontifex Maximus), and annual tribunician authority (Tribunicia Potestate). The reverse legend continues the imperial titular sequence with COS V P P S P Q R OPTIMO PRINC, expanding to Consuli Quintum, Patri Patriae, Senatus Populusque Romanus Optimo Principi. It records his fifth consulship, his title as Father of the Country, and the Senate and People of Rome's formal dedication to the 'Best of Princes.'

Typology and Chronological Classification

RIC II Trajan 147B belongs to the prolific COS V period of Trajan's reign, which spanned from AD 103 until his entry into his sixth consulship on 1 January AD 112. Because Trajan did not update the iteration of his tribunician power on most regular denarii of this phase, absolute dating relies on stylistic progression, hoard evidence, and title additions. The title Dacicus, conferred in late AD 102, appears throughout this group, while the honorific title Optimus Princeps reflects official senatorial acclamation formalized around AD 103. In modern classification, Bernhard Woytek places this specific trophy reverse with laureate and draped bust under MIR 14, emission 268b, dating its primary striking to approximately AD 107 to 108, directly following the triumphant conclusion of the Second Dacian War. RIC 147B is catalogued alongside RIC 147A (laureate head without drapery) and RIC 147C (laureate and cuirassed bust).

Circulation and Archaeological Context

Denarii of Trajan's fifth consulship achieved massive geographic dispersion and sustained prolonged circulation throughout the Roman Empire. Specimens of RIC II Trajan 147B have been documented in hoards and archaeological deposits from Britannia and the Rhine frontier to the Danubian provinces, the Mediterranean basin, and the Near East. The substantial bullion quality and consistent weight made Trajanic denarii trusted currency for everyday market transactions, military compensation, and tax payments. Hoard evidence indicates that these silver pieces remained in active circulation for decades, frequently surviving alongside Flavian and Antonine issues well into the late second and early third centuries AD, until the severe debasements under Septimius Severus and Caracalla gradually drove higher-purity Trajanic coins out of common circulation.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum (BMCRE), Vol. III: Nerva to Hadrian. p. 75, no. 358 note
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 256, no. 147
3. RIC II Trajan 147B. Type record 147B
4. Die Reichspragung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117), Moneta Imperii Romani (MIR) 14. MIR 14, emission 268b