Trajan Silver Denarius, RIC II Trajan 220

Monetary Context and the Dacian Wars

The reign of Trajan marked a critical epoch in Roman imperial monetary history, defined by significant territorial expansion and unprecedented fiscal liquidity following the conquest of Dacia. The conclusion of the Second Dacian War in AD 106 brought vast quantities of bullion from the captured mines and royal treasury of King Decebalus directly into the imperial treasury in Rome. This influx enabled Trajan not only to fund monumental building programs such as his forum and column, but also to execute a thorough overhaul of the circulating currency. Around AD 107, Trajan recalled and melted down older, pre-Neronian Republican and Julio-Claudian silver denarii that had survived in circulation due to their higher silver content, replacing them with a vast new uniform coinage. RIC II Trajan 220 belongs squarely to this transformative monetary phase, serving as an instrument of state fiscal policy while disseminating official propaganda celebrating the total subjugation of Dacia across Roman territory.

Production Standards and Mint Organization

The entire regular production of silver denarii for Trajan during this period, including RIC II Trajan 220, was concentrated at the imperial mint of Rome. Operating across multiple officinae, the mint maintained rigorous quality control over weight and alloy. The Trajanic denarius was struck at an average theoretical weight of approximately 3.20 to 3.40 grams, yielding roughly 96 to 99 coins per Roman pound (libra). The fineness of Trajan's silver coinage hovered consistently between 89% and 90% pure silver, representing a minor continuation of the post-Domitianic monetary adjustments. The dies for RIC II Trajan 220 were cut by skilled engravers capable of executing intricate drapery details, the delicate snakes and gorgoneion motifs of the aegis, and the specialized barbarian costume and weaponry depicted on the reverse.

Obverse Iconography and Attributes

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 220 features a laureate bust of Trajan facing right, distinguished by the addition of an aegis at the shoulder. The aegis, traditionally a divine attribute of Jupiter and Minerva, was adopted in imperial portraiture to signify supernatural protection and supreme command over the Roman state. Trajan is portrayed with characteristic realism: a low forehead, straight combed hair, a firm jawline, and a commanding profile that diverged from the dynastic styles of the Flavians. While the laureate wreath reflects traditional martial triumph and civic authority, the presence of the aegis specifically elevates the portrait above standard military representations, creating a subtle theological framework around the princeps as an earthly executor of divine victory.

Reverse Iconography: Dacian Captive and Trophy

The reverse of the type displays a seated Dacian captive positioned to the right of a military trophy. The Dacian figure, identifiable by his native tunic, trousers, and disconsolate posture, sits on the ground in an attitude of mourning and submission. Beside him rises a Roman trophy composed of captured Dacian arms and armor, typically including a coat of mail, curved swords (falces), shields, and battle standards erected upon a wooden armature. This composition belongs to an established iconographic tradition of Roman victory coinage, but it conveys the finality of the Dacian settlement with remarkable clarity. By showing the adversary disarmed, grieving, and placed at the foot of Roman arms, the design emphasizes not merely an isolated victory, but the complete pacification and integration of the conquered territory.

Epigraphy and Imperial Titulature

The inscriptions on RIC II Trajan 220 provide precise epigraphic evidence for its date and ideological program. The obverse legend reads IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, expanding to Imperatori Traiano Augusto Germanico Dacico, Pontifici Maximo, Tribunicia Potestate, Consuli Quinto, Patri Patriae. This sequence records the emperor's honorary cognomina for his earlier campaigns in Germania (Germanicus) and his victories in Dacia (Dacicus, assumed in late AD 102). The inclusion of COS V indicates that the coin was struck after Trajan entered his fifth consulship on January 1, AD 103, but before his sixth consulship in AD 112. The reverse inscription, S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI (Senatus Populusque Romanus Optimo Principi), declares that the coin was dedicated to the Best of Princes by the Senate and the Roman People, an honorific title informally accorded to Trajan from early in his principate and heavily promoted across his coinage.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Within the typology established by Harold Mattingly and Edward Sydenham in Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC II Trajan 220 is classified under the broad fifth consulship group of Rome, conventionally dated AD 103 to 111. Bernhard Woytek's refined chronological sequence in Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus places the Dacian captive and trophy reverse types primarily in the aftermath of the second Dacian campaign, notably between AD 107 and 108, coinciding with the grand triumph celebrated in Rome. RIC II Trajan 220 is specifically delineated from related variants by the combination of its reverse composition and the presence of the aegis on Trajan's bust; closely allied denarii share the identical reverse scene but feature a plain laureate bust, a draped bust, or drapery over both shoulders, catalogued under distinct numbers such as RIC 221 and 222.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Survival

Trajan's Dacian victory denarii were struck in massive quantities and circulated widely throughout the Mediterranean world, along the Rhine and Danube limes, and in the northern provinces such as Britannia. Because Trajan aggressively demonetized older worn Republican denarii, this new silver currency formed the primary transactional medium of the second century AD. Hoard data from across Europe demonstrate that denarii of the OPTIMO PRINCIPI series remained in active circulation for decades, frequently appearing in hoards deposited during the Antonine and Severan periods, often displaying significant wear from prolonged use. RIC II Trajan 220 survives in moderate numbers today, reflecting a substantial original mintage common to the victory series, though specimens preserving crisp details of the aegis and the trophy elements remain particularly sought after by numismatists.

References

1. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II Trajan 220. ric.2.tr.220
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 259, no. 220
3. Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117) (MIR 14). MIR 14, nos. 283-289