Denarius - Trajan PONT MAX TR POT COS II, Pax

Trajan's earliest denarii, struck within months of Nerva's death in January 98, reflect a mint working to establish the new emperor's image before he had even returned to Rome from the Rhine frontier. He remained with the army in Germania through much of 98, leaving the mint to operate on approved portrait and legend combinations without the emperor present for supervision.

RIC II 16 belongs to the first coherent group of Trajanic issues, before the COS III update that arrived with 100 AD.