99 / 228
97
bid online at
www.goldbergcoins.com(800) 978-COIN (2646)
|
T
RAJAN
'
S
V
ERY
R
ARE
S
ESTERTIUS WITH
B
IRD
'
S
E
YE
V
IEW OF
P
ORT OF
O
STIA
Enlargement
2002
Trajan. Æ Sestertius (25.58 g), AD 98-117
. Rome, AD 113. IMP CAES NER(VAE) TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC PARTHICO P M TR P
COS VI P P, laureate and draped bust of Trajan right.
Reverse:
PORTVM TRAIANI, S C in exergue, aerial view of Trajan' s hexagonal harbour
at Ostia, with entrance at bottom, buildings and colonnades surrounding the harbour, and three ships anchored within. RIC 632; Woytek
470v.
Very Rare.
Some smoothing and tooling. Reddish-brown patina. Struck on a nice broad flan.
Very Fine
.
Rome in the second century AD was inhabited by more than a million people, a population which no city surpassed until the industrial age a
millennium and a half later. To accommodate the needs of such a huge population, the small port at Ostia located at the mouth of the Tiber
River fourteen miles distant from the city was greatly expanded during the reigns of Claudius and Nero. Goods off-loaded at Ostia were either
transferred to barges that then went up the Tiber or were carried overland on carts and pack animals to the capital city.
Due to its unfortunate geography, the harbor at Ostia was prone to silting and had to frequently be dredged. The emperor Trajan, wishing to
expand the facilities and also to help obviate the problem of the silting, ordered the construction of a new, hexagonal harbor further inland
behind the original Claudian port, which he finished in AD 113. It is this port, the Portum Traiani, that is the subject of the reverse of this elu-
sive sestertius. The remains of part of the docks as well as the canal that linked Trajanís port with the Tiber can still be seen today.
Estimated Value ............................................................................................................................................................... $5,000 - 6,000
I
MPRESSIVE
T
RAJAN
AE S
ESTERTIUS
Enlargement
2003
Trajan. Æ Sestertius (24.16 g), AD 98-117
. Rome, ca. AD 106/7. IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, laure-
ate bust of Trajan right, slight drapery on far shoulder.
Reverse:
S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, S C in exergue, Victory standing left, holding
erecting trophy and holding palm; shields at base of trophy. RIC 523; Woytek 256bB; BMC 817. Lovely reddish-green patina.
Extremely
Fine
.
Estimated Value ............................................................................................................................................................... $2,500 - 3,000