As - Trajan S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI S C

Trajan's use of OPTIMO PRINCIPI — "best of princes" — was not formulaic flattery. The Senate formally voted him that title in 114 AD, though it began appearing on coinage well before the official decree, a rare instance of the mint anticipating senatorial action rather than commemorating it. The abbreviation S P Q R preceding the title was itself a pointed constitutional gesture, framing imperial authority as a delegation from senate and people rather than a personal possession.

RIC II 588 falls within a heavily produced series across Trajan's Dacian war years, when military expenditure drove sustained mint output at Rome.