The Via Traiana

230, Lot: 310. Estimate $5000. Sold for $3900. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Trajan. AD 98-117. Æ Sestertius (33mm, 28.70 g, 5h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 112-115. Laureate and draped bust right / The Via Traiana reclining left on rock outcropping, head right, holding wheel; in two lines in exergue, VIA TRAIANA/ S C. RIC II 637. Near EF, blue-green and olive patina, with traces of red. An exceptional and important historical issue.

The Via Traiana was a road running from Brindisium 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.