Trajan Silver Denarius RIC II Trajan 9

Monetary Context and Imperial Accession

The accession of Trajan in late January of 98 AD marked a smooth constitutional transition following the brief and turbulent reign of Nerva. The silver denarius remained the economic backbone of the early Roman Empire, functioning as the primary unit for state expenditures, civil bureaucracy salaries, and military payroll. In the opening years of Trajan's reign, the Roman mint adhered closely to the metallurgical framework established during the late Flavian period and preserved under Nerva. Denarii from this phase maintained a relatively high fineness, generally hovering between 90 and 93 percent silver content, with a typical striking standard around 3.2 to 3.4 grams. This production was carried out prior to the sweeping currency overhaul of 107 AD, when Trajan famously melted down large quantities of worn republican and early imperial silver and reduced the denarius fineness following the conquest of Dacia. RIC II Trajan 9 belongs directly to this initial, pre-reform monetary horizon, acting as an emblem of fiscal stability and uninterrupted governance in Rome.

Production and the Rome Mint

All regular imperial denarii of this type were manufactured at the imperial mint located in Rome. While provincial mints supplied local bronze and silver cistophori or drachms in the East, Rome preserved a strict monopoly over standard imperial denarii and aurei. The mint was organized into distinct administrative workshops, known as officinae, which divided the labor of blank casting, die engraving, and manual striking between paired iron dies. Engravers at Rome cut dies with notable consistency, though minor stylistic variations emerge in portrait relief, the treatment of the hair ties, and the drapery folds of the reverse figure. Blanks were cast in open or spherical molds, adjusted for weight, and struck hot or lukewarm between the fixed lower anvil die and the handheld hammer die. This centralized production ensured strict quality control across millions of individual blanks.

Obverse Portraiture and Style

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 9 displays a right-facing, laureate head of Trajan without chest drapery. Stylistically, this portrait belongs to Trajan's first official portrait group, often termed the accession type. The dies capture a transition away from the veristic, aged features characteristic of Nerva toward a more individualized yet classicizing portrayal of the young soldier-emperor. Trajan is presented with a firm, square jaw, a prominent aquiline nose, closely cropped hair combed forward over the brow in parallel locks, and an expression of military resolve. The laurel wreath encircles the head with ribbons falling neatly down the nape of the neck. The composition is compact and centered, framing the emperor within a continuous peripheral inscription that emphasizes both dynastic legitimacy and personal martial achievement.

Reverse Iconography of Vesta

The reverse composition presents the goddess Vesta seated facing left upon a simple seat without a back. She is depicted veiled and draped in traditional Roman matronly attire, embodying ritual purity, chastity, and the eternal continuity of the Roman state. In her extended right hand, she holds a patera, a shallow libation bowl used in official sacrifices, while her left hand supports a tall lit torch. Vesta was intimately connected to the sacred hearth of Rome and the maintenance of the public flame, overseen by the Vestal Virgins. Her appearance on the coinage of an emperor who had not yet set foot in Rome as Augustus served a clear political purpose. Trajan spent much of 98 and 99 AD inspecting the Rhine and Danube frontiers before making his formal arrival in the capital. The depiction of Vesta reassured the Senate and the Roman populace that the state religion, domestic concord, and traditional civic foundations were vigilantly safeguarded in his absence.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The legends on RIC II Trajan 9 provide explicit epigraphic documentation of the emperor's constitutional status during his earliest regnal years. The obverse legend reads IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GERM, expanding to Imperator Caesar Nerva Traianus Augustus Germanicus. Here, Trajan prominently integrates the name of his adoptive father, Nerva, while reinforcing his victory over Germanic tribes along the Rhine frontier, an honorific title he acquired late in 97 AD prior to becoming sole ruler. The reverse legend continues his administrative and religious titles: P M TR P COS II P P, expanding to Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate, Consul II, Pater Patriae. The assumption of Pontifex Maximus confirmed his role as supreme head of Roman state religion, perfectly harmonizing with the reverse figure of Vesta. The recording of his second consulship (COS II), combined with Pater Patriae (Father of the Fatherland), provides the critical baseline for dating the issue.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Within the standard cataloguing systems, this denarius is classified as RIC II Trajan 9 and catalogued by Bernhard Woytek as MIR 14, type 19. The chronology of the coin is tightly constrained by its imperial titles. Trajan entered his second consulship on January 1, 98 AD, alongside Nerva, and held it until entering his third consulship on January 1, 100 AD. Furthermore, Trajan initially declined the honorific title Pater Patriae upon his accession, formally accepting it in the autumn of 98 AD after senatorial petitioning. Therefore, issues bearing both COS II and P P belong strictly to the late 98 to late 99 AD interval. RIC II Trajan 9 forms part of a cohesive initial denarius series bearing identical obverse legends combined with varied personifications on the reverse, such as Pax, Justitia, and Fortuna, each reinforcing different facets of civic and moral virtue at the dawn of the new principate.

Circulation Patterns and Hoard Evidence

Denarii of Trajan struck in 98 and 99 AD circulated widely throughout both the western and eastern provinces, as well as along the fortified limes where military units were stationed. Because early Trajanic denarii possessed a high silver standard matching late Flavian specifications, they remained in everyday commercial circulation for decades. However, following Trajan's major monetary reform in 107 AD, which reduced the weight and fineness of newly minted denarii, Gresham's Law and imperial recoinage policies led to the gradual retrieval and melting of earlier fine silver. Despite this, substantial numbers of early Trajanic denarii survived in provincial and legionary hoards, particularly across the Balkans, the Rhine corridor, and Britannia. In these archaeological contexts, specimens of RIC II Trajan 9 regularly appear alongside denarii of Domitian and Nerva, displaying moderate to heavy wear consistent with protracted use through the mid-second century AD.

References

1. The Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage: From the Reform of Nero to the Reform of Trajan. pp. 480-512
2. RIC II Trajan 9. Type Record
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II: Vespasian to Hadrian. Trajan, no. 9, p. 246
4. Die Reichspragung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117) (MIR 14). Moneta Imperii Romani 14, type 19