Trajan’s Column
Trajan. AD 98-117. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.35 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 113-114. 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, Trajan's Column: column surmounted by statue of Trajan standing left, holding patera and scepter, and set on podium decorated with two eagles. RIC II 292; Woytek 425v; RSC 558. Toned, trace deposits. EF. A detailed depiction of Trajan’s column, showing the famous spiral relief.
Trajan's Column was the crowning glory of the Forum Traiani, built with the spoils of the Dacian Wars. 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.
