Trajan. AD 98-117. Æ Sestertius (32.5mm, 24.34 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 112-summer 114. Fine.

Triton XXVII – Session 6
Lot: 6135. Estimated: $ 1 000

Roman Imperial, Bronze

Sold For $ 2 500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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Trajan. AD 98-117. Æ Sestertius (32.5mm, 24.34 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 112-summer 114. Laureate bust right, wearing aegis / [PORTVM TRAIANI], the basin of the port of Trajan, octagonal in shape, bordered on seven sides by colonnaded warehouses. In the center, three boats. RIC II 631 var. (bust type); Morello 7 (O4/R5 – this coin); Woytek 470c; Banti 84. Rough red and brown surfaces, a few spots of corrosion. Fine. A clear view of the port. Very rare.

Ex Jetons Canada; Elsen 147 (4 June 2021), lot 470; Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 361 (14 October 2015), lot 930 (hammer $2300).

Documentation in ancient sources is plentiful concerning the Port of Trajan (cf. Pliny, Ep. 6.31, letter to Cornelianus); however, the exact location of the port is uncertain. In Untersuchungen zur Römischen Reichsprägung des Zweiten Jahrhunderts, teil 1, Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Traian, pp. 212-3, Strack claims that it is the harbor of Trajan at Ostia as opposed to that at Centumcellae. Mattingly, in the introduction to BMCRE, Vol. II, p. civ, questions Strack's conclusion. Perhaps future archaeological fieldwork will determine the precise location of the port depicted on this issue.

Closing Date and Time: 18 January 2024 at 10:44:40 ET.

All winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer’s fee.