Trajan Silver Denarius, RIC II Trajan 12

Monetary Context and Imperial Policy

When Marcus Ulpius Traianus succeeded Nerva in late January AD 98, the Roman imperial monetary system was anchored by the reformed silver denarius and gold aureus established under the Flavians and preserved during Nerva's brief reign. Trajan inherited an empire requiring reassurance following the political tensions and military coercion that had shadowed Nerva's rule, particularly the mutiny of the Praetorian Guard in AD 97. The immediate release of precious metal coinage served not only practical fiscal functions, such as discharging military stipends and administrative expenses, but also immediate propagandistic needs. The silver denarius was the preeminent currency of state payments across the legions stationed along the Rhine and Danube frontiers, as well as civilian administration throughout the provinces. The technical parameters of the denarius under RIC II Trajan 12 conformed strictly to the metrological standard then in force: theoretical weights clustered around 3.20 to 3.40 grams, struck at roughly eighty-four to ninety-six coins per Roman pound (libra), with a silver fineness hovering between 90% and 93%. By maintaining predictable fineness and standard weight, the imperial administration preserved commercial confidence during a sensitive dynastic transition. The choice of Concordia as a reverse motif for this early denomination was directly linked to the delicate equilibrium between the civil authority of the Senate, the newly elevated emperor, and the legions who looked to Trajan as their foremost general.

Production and Mint Organization

The entire issue of RIC II Trajan 12 was produced exclusively by the primary imperial mint located at Rome. At the end of the first century AD, the Rome mint was a highly structured industrial enterprise operating in multiple specialized workshops, or officinae, which divided production between precious metals and base metals. Die-engravers at Rome were responsible for establishing the official imperial portraiture, translating sculpted official busts or official painted prototypes into small-scale coin dies of exceptional relief and clarity. Dies were crafted by hand using hardened iron punches and gravers, resulting in subtle artistic divergences across individual die pairs despite adherence to a unified typological model. Denarii belonging to this issue were struck on pre-weighed, cast silver flans heated before placement between the lower anvil die and upper punch die. Striking was performed by manual sledge hammer strikes, an operative sequence that occasionally produced minor flan irregular borders, localized strike weakness, or slight die rotations. The administrative coordination of the mint ensured rapid dissemination of the new emperor's likeness to distant garrisons and provincial urban centers, demonstrating the capacity of the Rome mint to produce enormous volumes of consistent precious metal coinage within months of an imperial succession.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 12 presents a right-facing, laureate head of Trajan, sculpted in the classicizing, realist tradition characteristic of early Trajanic portraiture. Unlike the idealized, youthful presentations of Augustan coin types or the dramatic, heavy-featured busts of the later Flavian rulers, this portrait reflects the features of an experienced Roman commander in his mid-forties. The hair is rendered in straight, combed-forward locks terminating across the forehead in neat bangs, an austere hairstyle reminiscent of the late Republic that consciously rejected the baroque ringlets of Domitian. The laurel wreath encircles the head with leaves tied at the nape of the neck by a ribbon, whose ties fall gently downward toward the truncation of the neck. Engravers captured Trajan's characteristic straight, prominent nose, firm jawline, and compact chin, establishing an image of sobriety, dignity, and civic authority. The portrait truncation is executed neatly above the inscription line, devoid of drapery or cuirass in standard representations of this type, focusing the viewer's gaze entirely upon the ruler's facial likeness and the accompanying imperial titles.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse iconography of RIC II Trajan 12 is dominated by Concordia, the Roman divine personification of harmony, unity, and mutual agreement. Concordia is depicted seated facing left upon a low throne, dressed in classical Roman drapery consisting of a long stola and flowing mantle. In her extended right hand, she holds a patera, a shallow libation dish used during religious sacrifices, poised over a lighted, garlanded altar situated to the left of the composition. In her left arm, nestled against her torso, she cradles a double cornucopia brimming with agricultural abundance. Every component of this scene conveyed deliberate ideological meaning to contemporary audiences. The act of sacrifice over an altar emphasized Concordia Augusti as a sacred, divinely protected compact, thanking the gods for the peaceful transfer of power and securing divine favor for the imperial house. The patera underscored piety (pietas) as the moral foundation of concord, while the double cornucopia represented the tangible rewards of internal stability: material prosperity, civil peace, and an uninterrupted food supply for Rome and the military. By invoking Concordia so prominently during his second consulship, Trajan reassured both the civilian populace and the legions that his reign would be marked by harmonious cooperation rather than internal discord.

Epigraphy and Titulature Analysis

The legends on RIC II Trajan 12 are inscribed in clear, standardized Roman imperial capitals, displaying formal serif terminations and consistent letter spacing along the coin borders. The obverse legend reads IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GERM, abbreviating Imperator Caesar Nerva Traianus Augustus Germanicus. This formulaic sequence carried profound political weight. By placing Nerva immediately before Traianus, the emperor emphasized his legal status as the adoptive son and legitimate heir of the divinized predecessor. The title Imperator served as the military praenomen, Augustus confirmed his supreme constitutional role, and the honorary cognomen Germanicus recalled the triumph celebrated over Germanic tribes along the Rhine frontier during his command prior to accession. The reverse legend bears PONT MAX TR POT COS II, abbreviating Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate, Consul II. The office of Pontifex Maximus identified Trajan as the chief priest of the Roman state religion, aligning him with traditional sacred ritual. Tribunicia Potestate asserted his civil authority and sacrosanctity as protector of the Roman plebs. The specification COS II, marking his second consulship held in AD 98, provides an explicit chronological anchor, as Trajan entered his third consulship (COS III) on January 1, AD 100, firmly dating the manufacture of this issue to the years AD 98 and 99.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Within the modern classification of imperial coinage, RIC II Trajan 12 occupies an essential place in the opening series of Trajan's coinage, cataloged in Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham's classic corpus Roman Imperial Coinage. Bernhard Woytek's comprehensive monograph Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus refines this framework, classifying the Concordia reverse under the earliest production group (MIR 14, group 1) struck in Rome across AD 98 and 99. The type shares identical obverse dies and reverse concepts with several parallel issues from the same minting period, which featured alternate deities such as Iustitia, Pax, and Providentia, alongside personifications representing the virtues of the new principate. Distinguishing RIC II Trajan 12 from later denarii of similar iconography is straightforward due to the consular designation COS II; subsequent issues struck from AD 100 onward reflect COS III, and later COS IIII or COS V, frequently accompanied by titles such as Dacicus and Optimus Augustus. Minor stylistic variants exist among preserved specimens of RIC II Trajan 12, primarily involving minor differences in the truncation of the bust, the drapery folds of Concordia, or the detailing of the garlanded altar, yet the fundamental design elements remain strictly consistent across the issue.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Monetary Impact

Denarii of RIC II Trajan 12 entered active circulation immediately upon release, blending into the enormous pool of silver coinage circulating throughout the Roman world. Because Trajan's early silver adhered closely to the Flavian weight and fineness standards, these coins passed freely alongside denarii of Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, and Nerva. Archaeological finds and numismatic hoard evidence from Britain, Gaul, the Rhine frontier, the Danubian provinces, and the Italian peninsula demonstrate that early Trajanic denarii circulated widely for decades. When Trajan conducted his comprehensive recall and melting down of pre-Neronian and worn republican silver around AD 107, as documented by contemporary historians and reflected in hoard horizons, early post-reform imperial denarii such as RIC II Trajan 12 remained in active use. Many surviving specimens display moderate to heavy wear consistent with several decades of sustained commercial exchange before being deposited in mid-to-late second-century hoards. The issue stands as an enduring representative of the stable, high-production silver currency that underpinned the initial consolidation and administrative continuity of the Trajanic principate.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. III: Nerva to Hadrian. Trajan, no. 4
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 246, no. 12
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II Trajan 12. ric.2.tr.12
4. Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117). Moneta Imperii Romani 14, no. 27a