Sale: Triton IX, Lot: 1448. Estimate $2500.  Closing Date: Monday, 9 January 2006.  Sold For $2000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

TRAJAN. 98-117 AD. Æ Sestertius (27.91 g, 6h). Struck 116-117 AD. IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC PARTHICO P M TR P COS VI P P, laureate and draped bust right / ARMENIA ET MESOPOTAMIA IN POTESTATEM P R REDACTAE, S C across field, Trajan, laureate and in military uniform, standing facing, head right, holding reversed spear and parazonium; Mesopotamia seated left at feet, in attitude of mourning; to left and right, Tigris and Euphrates seated vis à vis, each leaning on inverted urn from which water flows, and holding reed. RIC II 642; Strack 472; Banti 29; BMCRE 1033; Cohen 39. Good VF, choice green, brown, and black patina, area of flat strike on obverse. ($2500)

Ex Gorny & Mosch 114 (4 March 2002), lot 289.

Trajan's final campaign was sparked by Parthia's replacement of the pro-Roman king of Armenia with one of their own in 114 AD. Armenia had been a strategic and semi-independent kingdom which served as an important buffer between Parthia and Rome. The last conflict overt this region, during Nero's reign, resulted in a delicate balance that stabilized the situation for over fifty years. The move by Parthia now upset the balance and posed a threat to Rome's wealthy Syrian cities. Trajan’s campaign was swift and decisive; by 115 AD, Armenia was restored as a Roman client state. To sÉcure the eastern frontier, he then moved southward through Mesopotamia, and captured the Parthian capital, Ctesiphon, in 116 AD. Although short-lived, these victories were celebrated on much of Trajan's later coinage.