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Denarius - Trajan COS V P P S P Q R OPTIMO PRINC AET AVG, Aeternitas
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 103-111 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The personification of Aeternitas (Eternity) depicted as a draped and veiled female figure standing to the right, extending the radiate head of Sol (the Sun) in her raised right hand and holding the crescent head of Luna (the Moon) in her left hand. The composition alludes to the eternal and cosmic nature of imperial rule, linking Trajan's reign with the perpetual cycles of time and the heavens. The reverse legend, distributed around the field, records Trajan's fifth consulship, his titles of Pater Patriae and Optimus Princeps, and explicitly names the reverse type as AET AVG — the eternity of the emperor. |
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| Additional information |
Trajan received the title Optimus Princeps — "best ruler" — formally conferred by the Senate in 114 AD, though it appears on coinage considerably earlier, reflecting the Senate's eagerness to flatter a commander fresh from the Dacian campaigns. The reverse type pairing with Aeternitas belongs to a broader Trajanic program of ideological coinage issued across his fifth consulship and beyond, asserting dynastic permanence at precisely the moment Rome was absorbing Dacia as a new province and its gold fueling an unprecedented building campaign.