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Banner Artemide LVII
Lot # 495
Trajan (98-117). AV Aureus, Rome mint, c. 114-117 AD. Obv. IMP CAES NER TRAIAN OPTIM AVG GERM DAC. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. Rev. PARTHICO P M TR P COS VI P P S P Q R. Radiate and draped bust of Sol right. RIC II 329; C. 187 var; Calicó 1038. AV. 6.20 g. 18.50 mm. Several edge marks, possibly traces of mounting. A handsome example of this interesting and fascinating issue. Good VF.
Ex NAC 100, 2017, 1862.
Marcus Ulpius Trajanus is widely hailed as one of the greatest of all Roman emperors. His 19-year reign was marked by military exploits that pushed the Roman Empire to its greatest extent, by judicious good government that extended a helping hand to the lowest classes of society, and by friendly relations with the Senate which healed the breach caused by Domitian's tyranny and set the tone for the next three reigns. Indeed, the perception of the second century AD as a second Roman Golden Age (after the reign of Augustus) owes a great deal to the personal qualities and foresight of Trajan himself. This stunning gold aureus, struck during Trajan's Parthian campaign in AD 116, depicts the emperor wearing the armor of a general. The reverse, depicting a fine bust Sol, celebrates the conquest of Parthia and infers that the 'Eastern' god of the sun has plainly sided with the Romans in this conflict.
(Heritage 3033,2014,23078).