Trajan Denarius “annona & Ship” — Certificate Of Authenticity

A Trajan silver denarius of very strong appeal to the collector, because it combines, in an iconographic formula that is particularly eloquent and immediately “Roman,” the official portrait with an aegis—mark of warlike majesty and protection—and an Annona reverse that stages, with remarkable clarity, the idea of public abundance and supply, a theme solidly attested for this type RIC 165 / Woytek 212c, struck at Rome around AD 106–107 according to the usual attributions of the corpora and specialized sale-archive records.

Careful observation under ×10 magnification and raking light: the reported observations, set against the standardized descriptions, show a secure and comfortable typological reading, in which the obverse titulature develops with convincing striking regularity around a laureate bust right, while the reverse presents the figure of Annona with her essential attributes—ears of grain, cornucopia, modius—and the garlanded naval motif, described by some authors as the prow and by others as the stern/sternpost of a transport ship, a scholarly nuance that in no way affects identification, but rather testifies to a well-established, extensively discussed type.

Authority / period: Trajan (AD 98–117), denarius dated circa AD 106–107 in collecting references and comparable sale catalogues.

Mint: Rome, convergent attribution in standard notices and comparanda.

Metal / denomination: Denarius (AR).

Weight: 3.30 g (stated metrological data).

Obverse (type and reading): IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, laureate bust right with aegis visible on the shoulder, a distinctive feature sought after by enthusiasts, as it reinforces the “military” presence and nobility of the portrait.

Reverse (type and reading): S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, Annona standing left, holding a cornucopia and ears of grain above a modius, with, behind, a garlanded naval motif, a reading exactly consistent with the published type description for RIC 165 / Woytek 212c.

State of preservation (surface observations): portrait relief well structured, bust outline crisp and laurel wreath intelligible, fields showing a harmonious grey toning with a brownish nuance, with occasional contact marks compatible with a normal circulation history for an ancient denarius, without diminishing the specimen’s overall elegance or the clarity of identification.

The titulature GER DAC recalls the horizon of victories and imperial stabilization, while the formula S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI places the coin within a register of public homage in which senatorial authority and the ideology of the “best of princes” read as an institutional seal; the choice of Annona—figure of supply and civic prosperity—points, in a concrete and immediately intelligible manner, to the major political role of provisioning Rome, an allusion strengthened by the naval motif through a direct reference to grain routes and infrastructure.

For a collection, this denarius offers a particularly “complete” composition, as it unites on a single coin the idea of imperial protection (aegis) and that of public abundance (Annona, modius, ship), making it an excellent thematic milestone for anyone building a series on Trajan’s monetary propaganda, on the economics of Roman provisioning, or on the SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI types whose symbolic force has durably marked the numismatic imagination.

The provenance is European, from an established numismatic dealer, and the acquisition was made through a specialized international transaction, conducted within a recognized numismatic network and validated to the highest standards of the art and heritage market; the attribution is strengthened by direct concordance with the references C 467 / BMC 171 / RIC 165 / CBN 380 / Woytek 212c, frequently cited in auction catalogues and sale archives.
Each specimen is examined, described, and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity consistent with the standards of the art and heritage market, and the description is deliberately limited to what remains verifiable through observation and published reference works, so that the collector’s confidence rests on a solid and durable documentary basis.