Trajan denarius with aegis

[BeastCoins]

I'm willing to admit, finally, publically, Greek coins in general are more finely artistic than Roman Imperials. There - I said it. Are you happy Mark?

Getting that out of the way, even having handled mostly Roman coins for the past ten years, I am still amazed at the level of artistic expression some of the Roman celators took to produce coins that were meant for general circulation. Here is an example of a Trajan denarius I recently acquired:



Trajan, AR Denarius, 103-111, Rome
IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P
Laureate bust right, aegis on left shoulder
S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI
Pax seated left, olive branch upward in right hand, scepter in left, begging Dacian kneeling before at feet
18mm x 19mm, 3.08g
RIC II, 187

It's common and RIC 187 is specifically with the aegis. I've seen a good number of Roman Imperial pieces with aegis bust type, but the celator really was feeling rather on top of his game for this die in my opinion. Here are some more common representations of the aegis type, which are still pretty nice, but just not quite as neat as the Trajan in my opinion.



Hadrian, AR Denarius, 118, Rome
IMP CAESAR TRAIAN HADRIANVS AVG
Laureate, heroically nude bust right, aegis on left shoulder and over back of neck
P M TR P COS II
Concordia seated left, patera in right hand, resting left elbow on statue of Spes, cornucopiae under chair
CONCORD in exergue
18mm, 3.49g
RIC II, -- (cf. RIC 39, but unlisted with this bust type)
Ex Barry Murphy, VCoins, November 2005



Hadrian, AR Denarius, 118, Rome
IMP CAESAR TRAIAN-HADRIANVS AVG
Laureate, heroically nude bust right, aegis with snakes on left shoulder and over back of neck
P M TR-P-CO_S II
Pietas, veiled, standing facing, head left, right hand raised
PIE_TAS across fields
18mm x 19mm, 3.13g
RIC II, -- (cf. RIC 45, but unlisted with this bust type)

Note from Curtis Clay: Apparently unpublished bust type with this reverse. Not in the standard catalogues nor in Berk photofile. We cannot tell, however, if Strack might have seen such a coin, since his bust type code does not distinguish between aegis on left shoulder and the more usual type of fold of cloak on left shoulder.

Enjoy!

--Beast

[tha-fahs-kseilo]

The lettering on some examples is especially exquisite, especially around the time of Trajan.

[BeastCoins]

Here is another recent acquisition, again specifically for the nice and careful engraving of the face on the aegis.



Trajan, AR Denarius, 101-102, Rome
IMP CAES NERVA TR_AIAN AVG GERM
Laureate head right, aegis on left shoulder
P . M . TR . P . COS . IIII . P . P
Victory standing right on prow ending in serpent, wreath upward in right hand, palm in left over shoulder
18mm x 19mm, 3.12g
RIC II, -- (cf. RIC II, 59 for type without aegis)

Enjoy!

--Beast

[Flavus]

"IMP CAES NERVA TRA_IAN AVG GERM"
A technical question, just curious. Why is there an underscore between TRA and IAN? I don't see any interruptions between them on the coin itself.

[BeastCoins]

Hello Flavius,

Nearly impossible to see, even in hand, but the very tip of Trajan's laurel sneaks inbetween the R and A (which is a typo on my part where I put the break - I'll go fix it now).

--Beast

[Flavus]

Thanks, Beast!
I see exactly what you mean. Beautiful coins, by the way, just pleasure to look at.
As far as the Greek coins are concerned (excluding the Greek Imperials) I'd agree that they are more artistic. However, the Roman Imperials in their turn, in my opinion, are more sophisticated. That wealth of information that they carry, both individually and together, I doubt, can be matched by the coins of any other ancient civilization.
I think the only guys among the Roman Imperials who can put up a good fight with the Greeks on the artistic field are the sestertii. Even the late ones I would not exchange for any Greek beauty.

[djmacdo]

I love the Greeks, but that does not dull my admiration for fine Romans too. Every once in a while I see a left facing bust that seems to have been done just as a demonstration of what a celator was capable of doing. I have the feeling, but no proof, that a left facing bust was harder to execute for a right handed die cutter and so a special challenge, and that may account for the special quality of many left-facing busts--"bragging" pieces. Has anyone else noticed this about left facing busts, or am I just imagining it?

Mac

[BeastCoins]

Mac,

I have to agree with you. The left-facing portraiture does seem to have a finer style overall when compared to right-facing bust types. For example, here is a Trajan denarius I sold a while back (luckily, to a local friend so I can still see the coin on occasion!)



Trajan, AR Denarius, 103-111, Rome
IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P
Laureate, heroically nude bust left, aegis on left shoulder
S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI
Genius standing facing, head left, patera in right hand over lit altar, cornucopiae in left
18mm x 19mm, 3.06g
RIC II, -- (cf. RIC 185, but unlisted with this bust type)

The facial features seem to be a little more delicate and life-like. The chest engraving is definitely more deliberate - the roundness of the right shoulder muscle and the most subtle difference in depth on the die gives actual separation of the right trapezius, clavicle/pectoral arch and upper pectorals. It's really an amazing coin in hand and one of those I still kick myself for not keeping.

--Beast

[akropolis]

Here is yet another of Hadrian:
Hadrian; 117-138 A.D.; AR denarius; Salus (3.1 gm). Not listed in RIC. Like RIC 46, but Aegis with serpents instead of "drapery" on left shoulder.
PeteB

[curtislclay]

BM 87 has Pete's coin with aegis, from a different obv. die with break H - ADRIANVS, not illustrated.

[akropolis]

Thanks Curtis. I don't have BM.
Was RIC published before or after BM?
PeteB

[curtislclay]

BMC III 1936, RIC II 1926, but RIC nevertheless should have known that variant, since the BM acquired its spec. in 1867 (Blacas Coll.)!

[akropolis]

Thanks again, Curtis.
PeteB