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Aureus - Trajan COS V P P S P Q R OPTIMO PRINC
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 103-111 |
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| Value | 1 Aureus = 25 Denarii |
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| Obverse description | Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Emperor Trajan facing right, rendered in high relief with characteristic portraiture of the Trajanic period. The emperor wears a laurel wreath over closely cropped hair, with the paludamentum (military cloak) draped over the left shoulder and scale armour (lorica squamata) visible on the cuirass. The surrounding legend runs clockwise from lower left, naming Trajan with his full imperial titulature. The portrait displays the strong, realistic facial modelling characteristic of the finest Roman imperial gold coinage of this era. |
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| Mintage | ND (103-111) |
| Additional information |
Trajan's adoption of the title Optimus Princeps — formally voted by the Senate, likely around 114 AD but in use on coinage earlier — was unprecedented. No emperor before him had accepted it, and the Senate's willingness to grant it reflects the genuine political goodwill generated by his Dacian campaigns and conspicuous public building program. The aurei of this COS V series span his fifth consulship through the peak of his reign, bracketing both Dacian wars and the early phase of his Parthian ambitions.