TRAJAN (98-117). Denarius. Rome.

Obv: IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC.
Laureate and draped bust right.
Rev: P M TR P COS VI P P S P Q R.
Trajan's column surmounted by statue of Trajan, with patera and sceptre; two eagles at base.

Woytek 514v; RIC 356.

Trajan's Column, designed by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus, was inaugurated in 113 AD in Trajan's Forum to commemorate his victories in Dacia. It is one of the finest examples of Roman art that can still be admired today. The magnificent frieze, which winds its way upward along the entire shaft of the column, consists of a sequence of reliefs 180 meters long, featuring approximately 2,000 figures. The emperor appears in about 60 scenes depicting Trajan’s two military campaigns against the Dacians, led between 101-102 and 105-106 AD. The monument, made of Parian marble, rises 42 meters high. Originally, a statue of an eagle stood atop the column, but after Trajan’s death, it was replaced with a six-meter-tall gilded bronze statue of the emperor himself. His ashes and those of his wife Plotina were placed in the burial chamber at the base of the column.

Condition: Near extremely fine; luster in field.

Weight: 3.36 g.
Diameter: 20 mm.

Estimate: € 500