Trajan AV Aureus. Rome, AD 112-113. IMP TRAIANVS AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust to right / Frontal view of the hexastyle façade of Trajan's Forum, with central entrance and two alcoves containing statues to either side, an elaborate statue group comprised of a facing chariot drawn by six horses between three statues on each side atop the roof; FORVM TRAIAN in exergue. RIC II 257; BMCRE 509; Woytek 409f; Calicó 1031a. 7.28g, 19mm, 7h.

Good Very Fine. A superb and sought-after architectural reverse type.

From the Isar Collection.

Trajan became consul for the sixth and final time on January 1, AD 112; on the same day he dedicated his new Forum complex. It is thought to have been designed by the architect Apollodorus who accompanied Trajan on his campaigns in Dacia and is famous for building a bridge across the Danube river recorded by ancient authors and artists. When complete, the vast complex consisted of the area fori (main square), the Basilica Ulpia, the column of Trajan, and two libraries, all situated adjacent to the Markets of Trajan on one side and the Forum Augustum on another. The project sought to exceed previous imperial fora in plan, scale and ornamentation while focusing directly on Trajan's military achievements in Dacia. Each imperial forum had specific architectural and decorative schemes which created specific ambiences; thus, Trajan's military theme is vastly different from the Forum of Vespasian (also known as the Temple of Peace and not officially called a forum since there is no evidence of it serving a political function) which instead contains gardens, fountains and promenades. One ancient account tells us that "all along the roof of the colonnades of Trajan's forum there are placed gilded statues of horses and representations of military standards, and underneath is written Ex manubiis [from money obtained through spoils]" (Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights 13.25.1). Perhaps the message the emperor wished to send was that his rule saw such great military achievement that his successes alone were capable of creating the greatest public architectural space in Rome. Following Trajan's death, Hadrian is reported to have added a colossal temple to the deified Trajan and his wife Plotina (of which very little survives) so that the completed Forum focused not only on Trajan's military victories, but also on his apotheosis.

The magnificence of this complex in comparison to previous imperial fora is emphasised by ancient witnesses, one of whom, when describing the emperor Constantius II's reaction when he first visited Rome in AD 357, says it was "a construction unique under the heavens, as we believe, and admirable even in the unanimous opinion of the gods..." (Ammianus Marcellinus 16.10.15). It was later a space where various important events occurred; Hadrian and Aurelian ordered the burning of notes of debt to the state here (Historia Augusta, Hadrian 7.6, Aurelian 39.3), Marcus Aurelius held a sale of imperial treasures here following a period of war as an alternative to taxing the provinces (Historia Augusta, Marcus Aurelius 17.4) and here laws were frequently fastened up on bronze tablets to be read by the public.

This coin was produced following the dedication of the forum and depicts the magnificent arch commemorating Trajan's victories in Dacia which acted as its entrance. Martin Beckmann (see The Early Gold Coinage of Trajan's Sixth Consulship in The American Journal of Numismatics Vol. 12 (2000), pp. 119-156) argues that it was part of the first production of AD 112 which contained a group of types focusing on commemorating the forum such as depictions of the Basilica Ulpia, and Equus Traiana (the following year saw the production of coins showing the newly built Trajan's Column). His study reveals that there were ten dies for this reverse type and that "from the die links it appears that the forum type carried on strongly, perhaps to the end of the entire series..." implying that significant importance was attached to the promulgation of this great architectural work, the grandest of all imperial fora to date, made possible by the emperor's military victories.