Sesterzio¹, zecca di Roma, 103-111 d. C.², RIC II 569 (pag. 284), BMC III 851 (pag. 179), Cohen II 542 (pag. 73), indice di rarità "C".

Descrizione sommaria:
D. IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P³. Traiano, busto laureato a destra; drappeggio sulla spalla sinistra.
R. SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI. S C ⁴ in esergo. Ponte sul fiume, sotto il quale, sulla destra, è ormeggiata una barca; il ponte, ad arco coperto, mostra lungo il lato visibile una linea mediana arcuata, attraversata da nove barre verticali; sopra a sinistra sono collocate delle statue: un trofeo, Ercole e un'aquila. Sotto le statue una base di pietra. Sulla destra del ponte, un ingresso accessibile mediante cinque gradini, al di sopra del quale sono collocate statue consimili.⁵

La ricerca nel web di monete della tipologia di figura ha prodotto i seguenti risultati:

1. http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=715825 Source Gemini, LLC Auction XI (12.01.2014) Lot  427  ( «  |  » ) Estimate  12000 USD Price  13500 USD Description Trajan. 98-117 AD. Sestertius, 27.32g. (h). Rome, c. 104-11 AD. Obv: IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P Bust laureate right, fold of cloak on front shoulder and behind neck. Rx: S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI S C Trajan's Danube bridge, depicted as a single arching span between entrance and exit gates topped by statues; a boat in the river below. MIR 314bD (7 spec.), pl. 63 (two illustrated, ours is from the same dies as the second of them). BM 851. Paris 315. Cohen 542 (8 Fr.). RIC 569. Exceptional iconic sestertius rarely seen in this quality. Choice EF. Ex Gemini II, 10 January 2005, lot 346; this coin published in Collecting World Coins, Winter 2005/2006, Cover and p. 19. Although other identifications have continued to be advanced in both academic and trade literature, Strack's arguments for the traditional identification of this bridge type on Trajan's bronze coins as representing Trajan's Danube bridge were virtually conclusive and should really have ended the debate. See C. Clay's review of Woytek's book on Trajan in Numismatic Chronicle 172, 2012, pp. 357-8.
2. http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=664953 Source Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, Inc.  Auction 74 (04.06.2013) Lot  3600  ( «  |  » ) Estimate  3000 USD Price  6000 USD Description Trajan, AD 98-117. Bronze Sestertius (26g) minted at Rome, AD 105. Laureate bust right of Trajan, left shoulder draped. Reverse : S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI. Arched single-span bridge over river, with covered walkway and gateways at either end surmounted by three statues; entrance to right approached by flight of stairs; below, boat moored near right bank, secured by anchor; below waterline, S C. Sear 3207; RIC 569. Fields lightly smoothed. Dark brown patina with lighter highlights. Well detailed and struck in high relief. Sharpness of Extremely Fine. The precise identity of the bridge depicted on this handsome sestertius remains a subject of scholarly speculation. Traditionally, it has been described as the bridge over the Danube near Drobetae, designed by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus and built in AD 104 as part of the preparations for Trajan's Second Dacian War. However, the totally different appearance of this bridge on Trajan's Column in Rome casts serious doubt on this identification. An attractive alternative is provided by the Pons Sublicius in Rome's Regio XIV, the first bridge to span the Tiber. A wooden structure, the bridge was frequently damaged or swept away by floods but was always restored or rebuilt in wood as a matter of religious practice. Doubtless, such a restoration occurred early in the reign of Trajan and was commemorated by this coin type, which appears also on dupondii and asses. Estimated Value $3,000 - 4,000. The Hunter Collection The Arden Collection.
3. http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=657202 Source Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG Auction 72 (16.05.2013) Lot  1575  ( «  |  » ) Estimate  1200 CHF Price  3500 CHF (~3655 USD) Description The Roman Empire Trajan, 98 – 117 Sestertius 103-111, Æ 26.67 g. Laureate head r., drapery on l. shoulder. Rev. The bridge over the river Danubius. C 542 var (no drapery). RIC 569. Dark tone and good very fine.
4. http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=592949 Source Heritage Auctions, Inc. Auction  2012 September Signature World & Ancient Coin Auction (06.09.2012) Lot  25223  ( «  |  » ) Estimate  500 USD Price  300 USD Description Trajan. (98-117 AD). Orichalcum sestertius (33mm, 23.79 gm, 6h). Rome, AD 107-110. IMP [CAES NERV]AE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, laureate bust of Trajan right, aegis on shoulder / S P Q [R OPTIMO] PRINCIPI S C, Trajan's Danube bridge, depicted as a single arching span between entrance and exit towers topped by statues; a boat in the river below. BMCRE 851. RIC 569 variant (bust type). Dark green patina. Nearly Very Fine.
5. http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=422534 Source Stack's Auction  October 2010 Coin Galleries Sale (20.10.2010) Lot  197  ( «  |  » ) Estimate  400 USD Description Trajan, A.D. 98-117. Æ Sestertius. Very Fine. Rome, ca. A.D. 104-107. Laureate bust of Trajan right, slight drapery on far shoulder. Rv. Arched single-span bridge; below, boat sailing left in river. 29.43 grams. RIC 569. BMC 849. Cohen 542. Tooled and smoothed(?), die shift. Brown surfaces. Very Fine. (400-500).
6. http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=494744 Source VAuctions Auction 234 (08.10.2009) Lot  62  ( «  |  » ) Estimate  400 USD Price  605 USD Description Lot 62.  TRAJAN. 98-117 AD. Æ Sestertius (33mm - 27.02 g). Rome mint. Struck circa 105-107 AD. IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, laureate bust right, slight drapery on left shoulder / S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, SC in exergue, arched bridge, consisting of two stories, with arch surmounted by quadriga at either end, spanning river; boat sailing below. RIC II 569; BMCRE 847; BN 315. VF, brown patina with some green, porous. Estimate: US$ 400.
7. http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=82136 Source Freeman & Sear Auction  Mail Bid Sale 15 (27.06.2008) Lot  352  ( «  |  » ) Price  425 USD Description ROMAN EMPIRE. Trajan (AD 98–117). Orich sestertius (23.27 gm). Rome, 103–111. IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, laureate bust of Trajan right, drapery on left shoulder / SPQR OPTIMO PRIN[CIPI], bridge with two-storied superstructure, monumental gateway surmounted by statuary at either end, steps below gateway on right, boat moored in river below, S C below riverbank. RIC 569. Rare. Dark brown patina; orichalcum visible at high points on obverse. Fields lightly smoothed. Nearly very fine Ex Brauer Collection (NFA Fall Mail Bid Sale, 12 October 1988, lot 832). Estimate: $400.
8. http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=68592 Source Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG Auction 46 (02.04.2008) Lot  1042  ( «  |  » ) Price  2300 CHF (~2266 USD) Description Auction 46 Part II. The Roman Empire Trajan, 98 – 177 Sestertius 103-111, Æ 28.45 g. Laureate head r., drapery on l. shoulder. Rev. The bridge over the river Danubius. C 542 var. BMC 881. RIC 569.Tooled brown patina Very fine Estimate: 600 CHF.
9. http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=87105 Source Gemini, LLC Auction II (11.01.2006) Lot  346  ( «  |  » )  Price  9000 USD Description Trajan. (98-117 AD). Orichalcum sestertius (27.30 gm). Rome, AD 103-111. IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, bust laureate right, fold of cloak on shoulder in front and behind / S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI S C, Trajan's Danube bridge, depicted as a single arching span between entrance and exit towers topped by statues; a boat in the river below. BMCRE 851. Cohen 542 (8 Fr.). RIC 569. Brown and green patina. Extremely fine. Published Collecting World Coins, Winter 2005/2006, Cover and page 19. Estimate: US$6500.
10. http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=77443 Source Münzen & Medaillen AG Basel Auction 92 (22.11.2002) Lot  72  ( «  |  » ) Description THE JULIO-CLAUDIAN DYNASTY TRAIANUS, AD 98-117 No.: 72 Schätzpreis - Estimation CHF 11000.- Sestertius, AD 106; 27.12 g. Obv. IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P Laureate head r., drapery on l. shoulder. Rev. SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI / SC Two-storied, arched bridge over river indicated by waves; each storey is divided into eight compartments; at either side, gate with steps, on top, statues; boat attached near the gate on the r. Outstanding specimen of this rare architectural type. One of the best of all known specimens. Beautiful dark brown patina, slightly smoothed in the fields. Extremely fine EUR 7'500,-  References: RIC 284, 569. C. 542. BMC 178, 847. Hill, UC 136, 251. Strack I, 385. KOSH pl. 69, 261. Pedigree: Ex Münzen und Medaillen AG, Basel sale 76 (1991), 875. The bridge illustrated on this sestertius is usually identified with the one Trajan had ordered to be built by Apollodorus of Damascus across the Danube at Drobeta (Turnu Severin in Romania). It was intended as a permanent warning signal to king Decebalus telling him that the Romans would again invade Dacia at the slightest misbehaviour of the king whom Trajan had repulsed during the First Dacian War after difficult and tough battles, without succeeding in completely defeating him. This famous bridge on the Danube was made of wood and had twenty arches as we know from its representation on the column of Trajan. The one illustrated on this sestertius should therefore rather be identified with a stone bridge in Rome, as we find a similar representation on coins of Septimius Severus (cf. RIC 198, 786 and pl. 10, 9), see also A. Donini, Ponti su monete e medaglie (1959), 41ss. and 65ss. (Septemius Severus), and H. Küthmann and B. Overbeck, Bauten Roms auf Münzen und Medaillen (exhibition catalogue, Munich 1973), 56, 108.
    

Un saluto cordiale.
Giulio De Florio

-------------------------------
Note:
(1) Sesterzio (oricalco). Riporto in tabella le caratteristiche fisiche dei sesterzi della tipologia di figura presenti nei link di cui sopra: