Marcus Ulpius Traianus, a brilliant general and administrator was adopted and proclaimed emperor by the aging Nerva in 98 A.D. Regarded as one of Rome's greatest emperors, Trajan was responsible for the annexation of Dacia, the invasion of Arabia and an extensive and lavish building program across the empire.
Under Trajan, Rome reached its greatest extent.
Shortly after the annexation of Mesopotamia and Armenia, Trajan was forced to withdraw from most of the new Arabian provinces. While returning to Rome to direct operations against the new threats, Trajan died at Selinus in Cilicia.
Marble statue of Trajan at Colonia
The coin we offer here is a large Bronze Sestertius (28 mm in diameter weighing nearly 10 grams) minted approx 100 years after the birth of Christ. The defaced obverse reads IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GERM whilst the obeverse reads TRPOT COS III PP.
See following scan of the coin
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(For those interested: The word “TRPOT” refers to an important Republican office was Tribune of the People (plebs) with the power to veto acts of the Senate. The office was first taken on ascension and renewed annually. At first the renewals dated to 10 December (the traditional date) but some rulers used the anniversary of their ascension or 1 January so it is necessary to know which system was in use before dating each reign. Many coins are seen dated with a split year (e.g. 11/12 AD) which means the TRP numeral placed the coin from 10 Dec 11 to 9 Dec 12. From the time of Septimius Severus, 1 January was used regularly. When TRP with numeral is used, it is the best dating device found on Roman coins. TRP with no numeral was the form for the first year; TRP I was not used. Occasionally TRP was used without a numeral even though the coin was struck after the first regnal year. Note the as of Tiberius used to illustrate SC used a long form spelling of TRP. As time went on the shorter abbreviations became standard)
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