445, Lot: 439. Estimate $300. Sold for $650. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Trajan. AD 98-117. AR Quinarius (15mm, 0.99 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 116-117. IMP CAES NER TRAIAN OPTIM AVG GERM DAC, laureate and draped bust right / PARTHICO P M TR P COS VI P P S P Q R, Victory advancing right, holding wreath and palm frond. RIC II 335; Woytek 575v; BMCRE 630; RSC 195; King 24. EF, multi-hued iridescent toning over subdued luster. Rare denomination, particularly so in this state of preservation.

The silver quinarius, or half-denarius, was introduced along with the denarius in 211 BC. It was a regular part of the coinage in the middle Republic, but was struck only sporadically thereafter. In the Imperial era, quinarii in both silver and gold (a half-aureus) were issued to mark special occasions, such as consulships, marriages and victory celebrations. Trajan’s quinarii feature Victory as a reverse type almost exclusively. This example belongs to the last issue of the reign, after Trajan had received the title Parthico for his Eastern conquests of AD 115-117, which later proved ephemeral.