Cistophorus - Trajan COS II

The cistophorus was an Attic-weight silver denomination minted in the Greek east — principally in the conventus cities of Asia — and Trajan's issues continued a practice established under Augustus of using this regionally familiar coin to pay troops and administer finances in the eastern provinces without forcing a full conversion to the Roman denarius system. The COS II designation narrows this piece to the very opening of Trajan's reign, before his third consulship in 100 AD.

Cistophori of Trajan are considerably scarcer than his denarius output, reflecting the geographically limited circulation these coins were designed to serve.