The Via Traiana

366, Lot: 817. Estimate $3000. Sold for $2550. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Trajan. AD 98-117. AV Aureus (19mm, 7.04 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 112-113. IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, the Via Traiana reclining left on rock outcropping, head right, supporting wheel set on knee with right hand, holding branch in left; VIA TRAIANA in exergue. RIC II –; Woytek 397f; Calicó 1128. Near VF.

Ex Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 318 (15 January 2014), lot 666.

The Via Traiana was a Roman road that ran 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.