Sale: Triton VII, Lot: 914. Estimate $2000.  Closing Date: Monday, 12 January 2004.  Sold For $4000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

TRAJAN. 98-117 AD. Æ Sestertius (25.29 gm). Struck circa 112-115 AD. IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P, laureate and draped bust right, seen from behind / S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, S C across field, Trajan's Column, set on podium decorated with eagles, and garland and surmounted by statue of Trajan standing left, holding patera and sceptre; podium surrounded by screen decorated with Victories and shields. RIC II -; Strack 433z; BMCRE -; Banti 298; Cohen -. Good VF, nice red-brown and green patina. Very rare. ($2000)

Trajan's Column was the crowning glory of Trajan's Forum, built with the spoils of the Dacian Wars, and the last and greatest of the Imperial Fora. 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.