Dupondius - Trajan S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI S C, Pax

Trajan's adoption of the title Optimus Princeps — "Best of Princes" — was formally conferred by the Senate in 114 AD, though it appeared on coinage well before that, including throughout the 103–111 emission. The Senate's enthusiasm was not merely ceremonial; Trajan's Dacian campaigns had delivered enormous quantities of gold and silver to Rome, and the political relationship between emperor and Senate was, by this point, genuinely cooperative rather than coerced.

RIC II 512 belongs to a large, well-documented series from the height of that goodwill.