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Lot 104
Rome. Trajan, 98-117 AD. Gold Aureus (7.19 g), Rome mint, struck 109 AD. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Trajan right. Reverse: Draped female figure (the personification of Arabia) stands frontal, head left, holding out a branch of frankincense and carrying a bundled object (cinnamon branches?), a dromedary camel at her feet; COS V P P SPQR OPTIMO PRINC. Biaggi 474 (same reverse die); RIC 142; BMCRE 294; C. 88; Calicó 1004; Fr-184. Finely struck, with a splendid, powerful portrait; the reverse of equally fine style. With light reddish toning. Rare. NGC graded Uncirculated.
The Roman general Marcus Ulpius Traianus would ascend to the throne of Rome thanks to the inspired thinking of the emperor Nerva. A lawyer and senator, Nerva was placed on the throne by the senate after the assassination of Domitian (in which he may well have had a hand in). While the Senate felt comfortable enough with its benign choice, especially after the increasingly paranoid and despotic Domitian, the army was anything but satisfied, for both the military and the praetorians had been devoted to the last of the Flavians, and resented mightily the palace revolution that removed him. Facing a potential uprising from that quarter (particularly the Danubian legions), Nerva chose as his heir and successor Marcus Ulpius Traianus, the most popular general of the day, at the time serving governor of Upper Germany. This act of placation diffused the potential rebelliousness of the legions. The choice may have been a stopgap for Nerva, but it would prove to be a brilliant one for Rome in general.
Trajan's army career was exceptionally distinguished. So it comes as no surprise that much of his 19-year reign was one of military conquests and glory. Under Trajan, the empire's territories would reach their greatest expanse. Accompanying this were notable building projects, a number of which can still be seen today. While much of his campaigning was in Germany, he also gave attention to the East. He adjusted the frontier there with the creation of the new province of Arabia. Done partly to hamper the growth and influence of the Parthians during one of their resurgent periods, nevertheless the province was commercially significant because it controlled the upper portion of the lucrative spice trade routes coming from Arabia Felix in the south.
In failing health, Trajan died in Cilicia on his way back to Rome. His heir and successor was also an adoptive soldier, but the circumstances of that succession were far murkier than Trajan's had been.
Estimated Value $15,000 - 18,000.
Illustrated in Money of the World, coin 43.
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