Trajan Silver Denarius, RIC II Trajan 174

Monetary Context and Imperial Reform

The reign of Trajan (98 to 117 AD) represents one of the most prolific and transformative periods in Roman imperial monetary history. When Trajan assumed power, the denarius maintained the monetary conventions established by the Flavian dynasty and Nerva. However, his ambitious foreign policy, marked by the First Dacian War (101 to 102 AD) and Second Dacian War (105 to 106 AD), fundamentally altered the financial foundations of the empire. The conquest of Dacia brought tremendous wealth into Roman coffers, including vast quantities of bullion captured from King Decebalus. This influx enabled monumental building programs in Rome, generous cash distributions to the urban populace (congiaria), and significant military expenditures. Around 107 AD, Trajan executed a major recoinage described by the historian Cassius Dio, who noted that worn older currencies were withdrawn and melted down. Pre-Neronian Republican and Augustan silver denarii, which had circulated for over a century due to their relatively high silver purity, were systematically recalled. In their place, the Rome mint issued vast quantities of newly refined denarii adhering to a post-reform standard of approximately 89 to 93 percent silver purity and an average struck weight hovering around 3.2 to 3.3 grams. Denarius type RIC II Trajan 174 belongs squarely to this period of monetary expansion and fiscal consolidation, expressing the regime's ideological claims of renewed prosperity and stability under imperial governance.

Production and Mint Organization

Denarius RIC II Trajan 174 was manufactured exclusively at the imperial mint located in the city of Rome. During Trajan's fifth consulship (COS V), the Rome mint operated under a highly structured administrative system divided into distinct workshops, or officinae, which coordinated the production of gold, silver, and bronze denominations. Although imperial silver coinage did not carry explicit workshop marks during this era, detailed die studies, notably by Bernhard Woytek, demonstrate that several parallel workshops concurrently engraved dies and struck denarii to meet immense fiscal targets. The manufacturing process began with the casting of spherical silver flans of controlled weight, which were subsequently flattened and softened by annealing. Highly skilled celatores (die engravers) carved the obverse and reverse designs into iron or bronze dies using intaglio punches and gravers. The striking was conducted manually using handheld upper dies and anvil-mounted lower dies. This heavy mechanical pressure often resulted in slight axis rotations, though the Rome mint maintained a predominant vertical die alignment (either 6 o'clock or 12 o'clock). The massive output of this reverse design required multiple obverse and reverse die pairings, giving rise to minor stylistic variations in portrait modeling, lettering proportions, and the rendering of drapery on the imperial shoulder.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 174 presents a right-facing portrait of Trajan characterized by the classicizing, sober realism favored by second-century imperial iconography. The emperor is depicted wearing a laurel wreath (laureate), the ancient symbol of military triumph and religious sanctity, with the ribbon ties trailing neatly down the nape of his neck. The portrait exhibits the defining physiognomic traits established in his Decennalia and middle-period portrait types: a straight nose, a low, furrowed brow, smooth hair combed straight forward over the forehead in typical Trajanic bangs, and a firm, determined jawline. A notable diagnostic detail of this specific catalogue entry is the drapery visible upon the left shoulder. Known in numismatic terminology as 'draped on left shoulder' (often incorporating the paludamentum or military cloak), this device imbues the civic portrait with an overt martial overtone, reminding the viewer of Trajan's active role as supreme military commander (imperator). The bust is encircled by an unbroken, continuous clockwise legend beginning at the lower left, framed by an outer border of fine beads.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse of the type features Felicitas, the Roman personification of fruitful happiness, auspicious success, and general well-being. She is depicted as a dignified female figure standing draped in a long stola and mantle, facing left. In her right hand, she elevates a winged caduceus, the herald's wand traditionally associated with Mercury, symbolizing diplomatic success, peace, and commercial prosperity. In her left arm, she cradles a horn of plenty (cornucopia) filled with fruits, symbolizing the material abundance and nourishment enjoyed by the Roman state under imperial patronage. At the lower left, standing before Felicitas, is a lighted altar resting upon the ground line. The inclusion of the sacrificial altar elevates the personification from an abstract political concept to an act of active religious observance (pietas). It signifies that the prosperity and felicitas of Rome were the direct consequences of correct ritual relationship (pax deorum) maintained by the princeps on behalf of his subjects. This combination of the caduceus, cornucopia, and burning altar presented a comprehensive ideological message: through divine favor and Trajan's victories, the Roman world was granted enduring peace, commercial vitality, and material bounty.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The inscriptions on RIC II Trajan 174 reflect the formal epigraphic conventions of Trajan's fifth consulship, combining administrative titles with ideological accolades. The obverse reads: 'IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P', representing an abridged sequence of standard titles. 'IMP' (Imperator) acknowledges his supreme military command; 'TRAIANO AVG' (Traiano Augusto) provides his personal cognomen and Augustan title; 'GER DAC' (Germanicus Dacicus) records his victory titles over the Germanic tribes under Nerva and the Dacians in 102 AD; 'P M' (Pontifex Maximus) designates him as high priest of Roman state religion; 'TR P' (Tribunicia Potestate) invokes his civil inviolability and popular tribunician power; 'COS V' (Consul Quintum) dates the type to his fifth consulship; and 'P P' (Pater Patriae) honors him as Father of the Fatherland. The reverse inscription reads: 'S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI', expanding to 'Senatus Populusque Romanus Optimo Principi' ('The Senate and the Roman People, to the Best of Princes'). This dedication represents one of the most distinctive mottos of Trajan's reign. Conferred formally by the Senate, the title 'Optimus Princeps' evoked the qualities of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, defining the emperor as benevolent ruler, protector, and constitutional servant rather than a despotic master. The legend asserts unanimous civic consensus between the governing orders of Rome in celebrating Trajan's beneficent rule.

Typology and Chronological Classification

The chronological envelope for RIC II Trajan 174 is framed primarily by Trajan's consular dates. Trajan entered his fifth consulship on January 1, 103 AD, and did not assume his sixth consulship until January 1, 112 AD. Consequently, all issues bearing 'COS V' were struck between 103 and 111 AD. The presence of the victory title 'DAC' securely places the issue after late 102 AD, when Trajan celebrated his initial triumph over the Dacians and officially accepted the title Dacicus. In his fundamental modern corpus, 'Die Reichspragung des Kaisers Traianus' (MIR 14), Bernhard Woytek refined the broad dating of the 'OPTIMO PRINCIPI' series into several distinct emission phases based on stylistic shifts, bust varieties, and hoard evidence. Woytek classifies this specific denarius type under MIR 14, type 283. Typological studies demonstrate that the reverse pairing Felicitas with a lighted altar was struck alongside parallel issues depicting other personifications such as Pax, Aequitas, and Annona. While earlier twentieth-century catalogues such as RIC II treated the entire COS V interval as a single uniform block, current scholarship places the primary output of this specific Felicitas-and-altar variety within the middle of the consulship, particularly following the successful conclusion of the Second Dacian War around 107 to 110 AD.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Evidence

The denarii of Trajan carrying the 'S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI' reverse legends were produced on an enormous scale and remained in active circulation for decades. Archaeological findspots and coin hoards documented across Britain, the Rhine and Danube frontiers, Gaul, Spain, and the Near East demonstrate the pervasive reach of this type. Because denarii served as the primary vehicle for military pay, legionary fortresses and frontier settlements along the limes frequently yield high concentrations of Trajanic silver, including RIC II Trajan 174. Due to the consistent fineness established after 107 AD, these coins enjoyed high public confidence and survived in civilian market exchange well into the Antonine and early Severan periods. Major hoard analyses across Europe, such as the Reka Devnya hoard in Bulgaria and numerous British hoard deposits, consistently record RIC II Trajan 174 alongside later denarii of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. Many excavated specimens exhibit moderate to heavy wear, testifying to continuous circulation spanning fifty to eighty years before eventual burial or withdrawal during the inflationary debasements of the third century AD.

References

1. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II Trajan 174. Type ric.2.tr.174
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 256, no. 174
3. Untersuchungen zur romischen Reichspragung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil I: Die Reichspragung zur Zeit des Traian. no. 133
4. Die Reichspragung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117), Moneta Imperii Romani 14. MIR 14, type 283