Pre-Long Beach Auction #80

Trajan. Silver Denarius (3.6 g), AD 98-117. Rome, AD 101/2. IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GERM, laureate head of Trajan right. Reverse P M TR P COS IIII P P, statue of Hercules standing facing on small base, holding club and lion's skin. RIC 49; Woytek 100a; BMC 86; RSC 234. Boldly struck and well centered with lustrous surfaces. Nearly Mint State.

The statue of Hercules on this coin honors Hercules of Gades, the patron of Trajan's native country. The Pillars of Hercules - the Rock of Gibraltar on the European flank, and an undetermined summit on the North African coast opposite - served as the westernmost extent of Hercules' labors, where he was sent to capture the Cattle of Geryon and bring them back to Eurystheus. For the ancients, the sea beyond the Pillars represented the great Unknown.
Estimated Value $800 - 900.