Aureus - Plotina CAES AVG GERMA DAC COS VI P P, Vesta

Plotina, wife of Trajan, was awarded the title Augusta only after considerable delay — Trajan reportedly declined to grant it immediately upon his accession in 98 AD, and she is said to have responded to the honor with conspicuous reluctance, a story preserved in Cassius Dio. Her coinage is correspondingly sparse relative to imperial consorts of comparable standing, issued in limited series across a reign that stretched nearly two decades.

RIC II 732 places this aureus within Trajan's sixth consulship, dating it to 112–117 AD. Plotina's role in securing the succession of Hadrian — whom she reputedly favored — was still years or months away when these dies were cut.