Trajan Silver Denarius, RIC II Trajan 6

Monetary and Political Context

The accession of Trajan in January AD 98 represented a pivotal moment in the governance and monetary history of the Roman Empire. When Nerva passed away after a fragile reign of just over sixteen months, imperial authority transferred seamlessly to his adopted son Marcus Ulpius Traianus, who was then serving as governor of Germania Superior. For the first time in imperial history, a provincial senator from Baetica assumed supreme power, yet Trajan chose not to rush immediately to Rome. Instead, he spent his first year consolidating defenses along the Rhine and Danube frontiers, governing through established administrative organs and sending directives back to the capital. Within this tense political landscape, coin production performed an indispensable role in maintaining confidence. The Roman denarius was the preeminent silver denomination underpinning state payrolls, imperial taxation, and urban commerce throughout the Mediterranean basin. The Roman senatorial elite and the broader populace sought swift reassurance that the transition would not precipitate civil discord or fiscal instability akin to the turbulent events of AD 68 and 69. By initiating silver issues such as RIC II Trajan 6, the imperial mint communicated institutional stability, legal continuity, and civic harmony to soldiers and civilians alike.

Mint Production and Metrology

The production of RIC II Trajan 6 took place entirely at the principal imperial mint located in Rome. Although Trajan himself remained in the northern provinces throughout AD 98 and entered the city of Rome only in late AD 99, mint officials operated in strict coordination with the imperial secretariat to manage the state's bullion reserves and release fresh coinage. Metrologically, the issue adhered to the silver standard established in the later years of Domitian and maintained during Nerva's brief tenure. Under this standard, denarii were struck at approximately 96 to the Roman pound (libra), yielding a theoretical mass of roughly 3.38 grams. In modern metallurgical analyses, surviving denarii of Trajan's early COS II issues generally range between 3.10 and 3.45 grams, with typical diameters measuring between 18 and 19 millimeters. The silver purity hovered closely around 90 to 92 percent fineness, with the remaining balance consisting of copper added to harden the alloy for circulation. Die alignment for Rome during this era generally favored an upright or slightly offset orientation, demonstrating the high technical proficiency and disciplined mechanical production of the Roman officinae.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 6 features the laureate head of Trajan facing right. Numismatic portraiture from the opening months of Trajan's reign exhibits a distinctive stylistic evolution. Before personal sculptors and official models arrived from the northern frontier, die engravers at Rome initially blended Trajan's likeness with the physiognomy of his predecessor Nerva, creating what numismatists classify as transitional or adoption-style portraits. Over the course of AD 98 and 99, however, the portraiture solidified into a distinctively Trajanic iconography. On mature dies of this type, the portrait displays Trajan's characteristic straight, combed-forward hair running in flat locks toward the forehead, a prominent nose, firm chin, and lean, unidealized facial planes. The laurel wreath sits upon his brow with ribbons falling neatly down the nape of the neck. The portrait projects the gravitas and sober discipline expected of an experienced military commander, avoiding eastern monarchical affectations while emphasizing republican civic virtues and constitutional legitimacy.

Reverse Iconography of Pax

The reverse of RIC II Trajan 6 depicts the goddess Pax, the personification of peace, standing facing left. Pax is presented in full drapery, wearing a long stola and mantle, with an ornate wreath adorning her head. In her outstretched right hand, she holds an olive branch (ramus) upright, the timeless Mediterranean emblem of peace and reconciliation. In her left arm, she cradles a cornucopia brimming with fruits and agricultural produce. This specific combination of attributes carried a profound ideological message. In Roman political theology, true peace was not an idle passivity but the fruit of military strength and security that permitted civic prosperity and abundant harvest to flourish. By choosing Pax rather than overt militaristic imagery on this early denarius issue, the administration reassured the populace that the military preparedness on the northern borders aimed at preserving the civil order rather than embarking on reckless expansion. The presence of the cornucopia tied domestic material welfare directly to the peace guaranteed by the emperor.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The inscriptions on RIC II Trajan 6 provide vital chronological and constitutional evidence for dating and contextualizing the issue. The obverse legend reads IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GERM, beginning from the lower left and continuing clockwise around the rim. This legend records Trajan's formal nomenclature: Imperator (military supreme commander), Caesar (dynastic title), Nerva (the adoptive patronymic), Traianus (his personal cognomen), Augustus (the supreme imperial title), and Germanicus (the victory title conferred in late AD 97 after Nerva's adoption of Trajan following campaigns on the Rhine). The reverse inscription reads P M TR P COS II P P, representing Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate, Consul II, Pater Patriae. The inclusion of Pontifex Maximus affirms his position as chief priest of the Roman state religion, while Tribunicia Potestate denotes the tribunician power renewed annually. Crucially, COS II records his second consulship, which commenced on January 1, AD 98. The title Pater Patriae (Father of the Fatherland) was accepted by Trajan during the course of AD 98. The absence of COS III, which Trajan assumed on January 1, AD 100, firmly fixes the minting of this legend formula to the window of AD 98 and 99.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard classification of Harold Mattingly and Edward Sydenham in The Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC), this specific reverse type is catalogued as RIC II 6. In Bernhard Woytek's specialized monograph Die Reichspragung des Kaisers Traianus (MIR 14), the issue is categorized under the earliest chronological group of Trajan's reign (Group 1, spanning early AD 98 through late AD 99). Within this type, slight stylistic variations exist across dies. These include variations in the arrangement and fullness of Trajan's hair, subtle differences in the truncation of the neck, and the precise angle at which Pax holds the olive branch. Minor variations in the spacing and breaks of the reverse legend also appear across distinct die pairs. However, the fundamental typology remains consistent: laureate head right on the obverse paired with Pax standing left holding an olive branch and cornucopia on the reverse, with COS II in the reverse inscription. It is strictly distinguished from later denarii where Trajan holds subsequent consulships (COS III onwards) or where Pax is depicted seated, setting fire to arms, or accompanied by Dacian captives.

Circulation, Hoards, and Survival

Denarii of RIC II Trajan 6 entered circulation rapidly through military pay distributions, state procurement, and commercial networks across the provinces. Early issues of Trajan circulated alongside denarii of Domitian and Nerva, as well as worn Flavian and Julio-Claudian pieces that had survived the monetary reforms of previous decades. Hoard evidence demonstrates that Trajan's silver coinage circulated widely throughout Italy, Gaul, the Rhineland, Britannia, and the Danubian frontier. Notably, following Trajan's conquest of Dacia and the subsequent recall and recoinage of older, pre-Neronian silver around AD 107, Trajanic denarii formed the predominant circulating silver currency of the western empire. Because the fineness of early Trajanic denarii was reputable, specimens of RIC II Trajan 6 continued to circulate through the reigns of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. They began disappearing from circulation hoards only during the late second century AD, when the dramatic debasement under Septimius Severus incentivized the hoarding and melting of higher-grade second-century silver under Gresham's Law.

References

1. The Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage: From the Reform of Nero to the Reform of Septimius Severus. pp. 219-225
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II Trajan 6. ric.2.tr.6
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 245, no. 6
4. Die Reichspragung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117) (MIR 14). MIR 14, nos. 19-21