Trajan. AD 98-117. AR Denarius (20mm, 3.46 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck AD 114-115. IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC, laureate and draped bust right / P M TR P COS VI P P S P Q R, Trajan's Column: column surmounted by statue of Trajan standing left, holding patera and scepter, and set on podium decorated with eagles. RIC II 356; Woytek 514v; Strack 234; BMCRE 565; RSC 284. Fine.
Trajan's Column was the crowning glory of the Forum Traiani, built with the spoils of the Dacian Wars. Covered by a continuous frieze of the war's events, the column was capped with a gilded heroic statue of the emperor, while an inscription on the base recounted the feat of engineering in the forum's construction. After Trajan's death, the column became the repository of his ashes.
