Trajan Silver Denarius RIC II Trajan 779

Monetary Context and the Restored Coinage

The issue designated as RIC II Trajan 779 belongs to Trajan's celebrated series of restored coins, commonly cited in scholarship as the restitution issues. According to the ancient historian Cassius Dio, Trajan ordered the melting down and withdrawal of worn and obsolete currency, a measure widely associated with the fiscal reorganizations of approximately AD 107. By this time, Republican silver coins that had remained in circulation for centuries alongside imperial denarii were culled from the money supply. Rather than simply absorbing this pre-Neronian bullion into modern issues, the imperial mint selectively re-struck a remarkable sequence of Republican and early imperial coin designs. Trajan's restitution denarii were struck using the prevailing imperial silver standard, which was slightly lower in gross weight and fineness than the original pre-Neronian Republican coins. This monetary reform allowed the imperial state to secure a net bullion profit while simultaneously paying tribute to historic Roman triumphs, ancestral gentes, and revered republican traditions. RIC II Trajan 779 directly recalls the late Republican denarius issued by the moneyer Lucius Rubrius Dossenus, perpetuating the republican imagery under the aegis of the emperor.

Production Standards and Minting Operations

The entire restitution series of Trajan, including RIC II Trajan 779, was produced centrally at the mint of Rome. In contrast to the massive output of regular imperial denarii featuring Trajan's portrait on the obverse, the restored series was minted in comparatively limited quantities, functioning both as legitimate circulating medium and as prestigious commemorative pieces. Engravers at the Rome mint worked with explicit archival intent, copying the compositions of the Republican originals while executing them in the polished, realistic stylistic idiom characteristic of early second-century Roman imperial art. Denarii of this period were struck with an intended weight standard clustering between 3.10 and 3.40 grams, consistent with the reduced denarius standard established during Nero's reform of AD 64. Blanks were carefully prepared, cast in spherical molds, and struck between hand-cut iron or bronze dies, yielding sharp, high-relief portraits and dynamic reverse tableaus.

Obverse Design and Visual Elements

The obverse of RIC II Trajan 779 departs entirely from the standard imperial denarius formula of displaying the reigning emperor's portrait. Instead, it presents a right-facing, helmeted bust of Roma, directly reviving the design found on Republican denarii of 87 BC. Roma is depicted in traditional military apparel, wearing a crested Corinthian or Attic-style helmet adorned with a side feather or visor details typical of late Republican numismatic representation. The rendering demonstrates the mature draftsmanship of Trajan's Rome mint celators, combining classical severity with delicate hair and drapery modeling. By omitting the imperial likeness on the obverse, the coin faithfully replicates the Republican prototype, honoring the city of Rome as the foundational symbol of the state.

Reverse Iconography and Composition

The reverse of RIC II Trajan 779 features a dynamic portrayal of Victory driving a four-horse chariot (quadriga) to the right. Victory holds the reins in one hand and extends a wreath or palm branch, symbolizing martial triumph and divine favor. The quadriga motif had been an enduring staple of Roman Republican coinage since the late third century BC, frequently chosen by moneyers to invoke historic battlefield successes associated with their ancestral lineage. On this restitution type, the horses are depicted in spirited motion, with elevated hooves and rendered musculature characteristic of imperial workshop mastery. The composition neatly balances the energetic figural group with the surrounding textual legends.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The epigraphy of RIC II Trajan 779 integrates imperial nomenclature with late Republican moneyer attribution. The obverse is often anepigraphic, preserving the stark aesthetic of its Republican counterpart. The reverse carries Trajan's official titulature, rendered typically as IMP CAES TRAIAN AVG GER DAC P P, occasionally accompanied by REST or abbreviated moneyer text incorporating L RVBRI. The title Germanicus (GER) commemorates his earlier Rhine campaigns, while Dacicus (DAC) provides a firm post-AD 102 terminus for the issue, referencing his conquest of Dacia. The designation Pater Patriae (P P) and the imperial title Imperator Caesar Augustus establish the authority under which the coin was struck. The name L RVBRI preserves the memory of Lucius Rubrius Dossenus, the Republican magistrate responsible for the original 87 BC issue, while some dies in the series explicitly conclude with REST for restituit (he restored), cementing the reissue's archival identity.

Typology and Chronological Placement

Within the typology of Roman imperial numismatics, RIC II Trajan 779 is classified among the Trajanic restitution issues catalogued in the second volume of The Roman Imperial Coinage. The broader series was systematically dated by Bernhard Woytek in his monumental study of Trajan's coinage (MIR 14) to approximately AD 107, coinciding with the decennial celebrations, the triumph over Decebalus, and the recall of pre-Neronian silver recorded by ancient sources. Unlike continuous series of regular denarii that evolved through successive consular iterations, Trajan's restored silver was struck in a concentrated burst of commemorative activity. While minor die variations exist in lettering placement, quadriga proportions, and the treatment of Roma's helmet, the essential design remained tightly controlled across the output of the Rome mint.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Survival

Because Trajan's restitution denarii were struck in significantly smaller volumes than his standard currency, they are far less common in the archaeological record than regular Trajanic denarii. Hoard evidence indicates that these coins did circulate alongside contemporary issues, becoming integrated into the wider Mediterranean currency pool throughout the second century AD. Over time, however, the restored denarii were gradually thinned by standard velocity of circulation, wear, and subsequent monetary debasements under later emperors. Today, specimens of RIC II Trajan 779 are recognized as rare numismatic documents, providing direct physical testimony to Trajan's deliberate use of coin design to bridge imperial supremacy with the revered memories of the Roman Republic.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume III: Nerva to Hadrian. Trajan, Restored Issues
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II Trajan 779. ric.2.tr.779
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II: Vespasian to Hadrian. p. 312, no. 779
4. Die Reichsprägung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117), Moneta Imperii Romani 14. Restitutionsprägungen