TRAJAN. 98-117 AD. Æ Sestertius (27.63 gm). Struck circa 104-107 AD. IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, laureate bust right, drapery on far shoulder / SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI, S C in exergue, Trajan on horseback right, throwing javelin at falling Dacian before. RIC II 534; BMCRE 836; Cohen 503. EF, exceptional green patina with very nice surfaces.
The height of Rome's military might occurred under Trajan, and he stretched the Empire's borders to their greatest extent. First he dealt with the Dacians under their king Decebalus in two major campaigns (101-103 and 105-106 AD), eventually defeating them and absorbing the entire kingdom as the Roman province of Dacia.
