A rare bust variety with aegis, no other examples recorded in the archives. Trajan, 98-117. Denarius (Silver, 19 mm, 3.34 g, 6 h), Rome, circa 110. IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P Laureate head of Trajan to right, with aegis on his left shoulder. Rev. COS V P P S P Q R OPTIMO PRINC Arabia standing front, head to left, holding branch in her right hand and bundle of calamus in her left; at feet to left, dromedary standing left. Cf RIC 142 var. bust. good very fine
This denarius was part of a series of coins and monuments that commemorated Trajan's annexation of the Nabataean Kingdom in AD 106, which was the last major permanent addition to Roman territory in the East. The new eastern border (limes), stretching from the Gulf of Aqaba in the south through Syria and Asia Minor to the Black Sea in the north, would remain essentially stable for the next five centuries despite the near-constant warfare with Persia.