Via Traiana

443, Lot: 542. Estimate $150. Sold for $555. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Trajan. AD 98-117. AR Denarius (18.5mm, 3.17 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 112-113. Laureate bust right, slight drapery / VIA TRAIAN, the Via Traiana reclining left on rock outcropping, head right, supporting wheel set on knee and holding branch. RIC II 266 var. (VIA TRAIANA); Woytek 398b var. (same); RSC 648 var. (same, but the illustration is of this variety). Good VF, toned.

The Via Traiana was a Roman road that ran from Brindisium (Brindisi) to Beneventum, serving as an important link between Rome and the East. Its construction was begun in AD 109 and completed in AD 113 at Trajan’s own expense.