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Aureus - Trajan S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, Abundantia
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 103-111 |
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| Value | 1 Aureus = 25 Denarii |
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| Obverse description | Laureate bust of Emperor Trajan facing right, draped at the shoulder, rendered with fine portraiture characteristic of the high imperial style. The effigy displays the emperor's distinctive features with cropped hair beneath the laurel wreath. The circumferential legend IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P is inscribed in bold, well-spaced Latin capitals around the portrait, reading from the base of the neck. A beaded border frames the entire design. |
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| Obverse lettering | IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P (Translation: Imperator Traiano Augustus, Germanicus, Dacicus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate, Consul Quintum, Pater Patriae. Supreme commander (Imperator), of Trajan, emperor (Augustus), conqueror of the Germans, conqueror of the Dacians, high priest, holder of tribunician power, consul for the fifth time, father of the nation.) |
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| Additional information |
Trajan's "Optimus Princeps" title — best of emperors — was formally conferred by the Senate around 114 AD, but it appears on coinage well before that, reflecting a gradual accumulation of honorifics rather than a single moment of award. The Abundantia reverse type belongs to a sustained propaganda program following the Dacian Wars, when Dacia's gold and silver mines dramatically refilled the imperial treasury. Trajan reportedly brought back 165,000 kg of gold from the conquest — whether accurate or not, the sudden increase in aurei output after 106 is measurable in surviving coin volumes.