Trajan, Silver Denarius

Trajan, Silver Denarius

Trajan, Silver Denarius, 98 -117 CE.
OBVERSE: IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GERM (Imperator Caesar Nerva Trajan Augustus Germanicus), laureate head right.

REVERSE: PM TR POT COS IIII PP (Pontifex Maximus, tribunician power, Consul for the 4^th time, pater patriae), Herakles facing right standing facing on altar, holding club and lion skin. 

Trajan, a very successful and well-remembered emperor, was one of the first emperors to engrave his coins with Herakles, a very famous Greek hero who often appeared on the coins of Greek rulers like the Macedonian king Alexander the Great. It has been argued that Trajan was, in fact, trying to emulate the expansion and military success of Alexander the Great.
Herakles is shown here after one of his most famous labors: the defeat of the Nemean lion.

Gift of James and Aneta McIntyre, Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Salem, OR. 2006.010.037

ca. 98-117 CE

Hallie Ford Museum of Arts

0.769 in
0.105 oz

Latin

Coin

This item can be viewed on Hallie Ford Museum of Art's website.