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Trajan RIC - 543
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Æ Sestertius, 25.30g 35mm
Rome mint, 107 A.D.
Obv: IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P; Head of Trajan, laureate, r.
Rev: S•P•Q•R•OPTIMO•PRINCIPI•S•C•; Trajan, bare-headed, in military dress, cloak floating behind him, riding right, thrusting spear at Dacian below horse
RIC 543 (C). Woytek 317 BMC 833 Sear 3204
Acquired from Monetarium, Ma-Shops. August 16, 2022. ($730)
The reverse of this type is a part of the Roman Emperor Trajan's "Debellator" or conqueror series showing his conquest of Dacia. His series of depicting the conquest of Dacia is split between two different types with one having reverse types depicting personifications of Dacia or typical victorious iconography while the other depicts scenes of excessive violence and humiliation. The more "tamed" reverse types of the conquest of Dacia have been found scattered across the Roman province of Dacia while the more violent and humiliating reverse types such as this one showing Trajan himself running down an unarmed Dacian preparing to spear him on the ground have never been found in the province of Dacia, but rather within Northern Italy and other areas of the empire in order not to provoke the newly conquered Dacians. These more violent issues would have probably circulated amongst the Roman elites and especially the soldiers on the frontier that had been responsible for participating in the conquest of Dacia. The less violent and more typical depictions of victory over Dacia would have served to gradually incorporate the Dacian people into the multicultural empire of Rome. This particular excessively violent reverse image of Trajan spearing the Dacian is meant to show Trajan's military prowess as a great military commander serving the interests of the Roman people. The aggressiveness of this scene is meant to also serve a double meaning to show the Roman army's military superiority and to also show the pointlessness of any further Dacian Resistance against Roman rule. This type may be the most violent of all the coin designs and types that depict Trajan's conquest of Dacia. (Courtesy Corey Ellithorpe's Article Striking a Dissonant Chord: The Geographical Targeting of Trajan’s Debellator Coinage in Dacia)
This type is more rare and is struck in less quantities than the reverse type with the Dacian in front of the horse rather than below.
Extremely Fine style and Dark Patinated surfaces.
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