Sestertius - Trajan TR POT COS II P P S C

Struck in the opening months of Trajan's reign, this sestertius falls within the window between Nerva's death in January 98 and Trajan's assumption of his second consulship — a transitional moment when the new emperor was still in Germania commanding the Rhine armies and had not yet returned to Rome. The Senate awarded him the title Optimus Princeps years later; these early issues predate any such honors.

The orichalcum fabric of sestertii from this period was tightly controlled under Trajanic reform, and the large module was specifically chosen to carry detailed senatorial legend — the S C reflecting the Senate's nominal monetary authority over base metal coinage.