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Trajan Æ As. Rome, AD 103-111. IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, laureate bust right, with slighty drapery on far shoulder / S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI S C within oak wreath. RIC 476. 10.81g, 28 mm, fine.
Trajan was declared Optimo Principi (Best Ruler) by the Senate. Successful in war, generous in peace, did a lot of building and philanthropy. He used Republican ideology (in the Roman sense) as a façade to cover his autocratic rule. “Best Ruler,” in that sense, meant he did as he pleased, good thing his instincts were generous.
