Denarius. 20-18 mm. 
Trajan, 98-117. Struck 114-117.

IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC PM TRP COS VI PP, laureate, draped bust right
column, surmounted by a statue, two eagles at the base. SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI around.

RIC 212. Hill 618 "114". Sear II 3151 "116".


 

Trajan's column, still standing tall in Rome today, commemorates Trajan's Dacia wars, 101–102 and 105–106, which lead to the annexation of Dacia as a Roman province across the Danube. [That's me in Rome in 2009.] The colum is 98 feet tall with a base adding another 17 feet. The famous frieze winds around it 23 times and is 620 feet long. 

The statue on the coin and column was Trajan, but it disappeared in the middle ages and was replaced on the column in 1587 by a statue of St. Peter.  

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