A rare ancient coin of Rome, denarius, silver, Emperor Trajan, about AD 110. "Captives and military trophies". For a collection or as a gift. A silver denarius of Trajan with a Dacian captive, a military trophy and the inscription DAC CAP – a very interesting coin because it is directly connected with Trajan's Dacian Wars. This type was struck in Rome around AD 103-111. What this coin tells us On the obverse is Emperor Trajan, crowned with a laurel wreath. His titles include DAC, i.e. Dacicus – conqueror of the Dacians. The reverse shows a defeated Dacian sitting beside or on a pile of captured weapons. Next to him is a military trophy. The inscription DAC CAP is short for Dacia Capta – "Dacia conquered/captured". So this is not just a decorative scene. The Roman state was in effect informing the holders of the coin about a military victory Trajan fought the Dacian king Decebalus twice. AD 101-102 – the First Dacian War. After heavy fighting Decebalus agreed to peace. But the peace did not last long. AD 105-106: Trajan began the Second Dacian War. In AD 106 the Romans captured the Dacian capital Sarmizegetusa. Decebalus fled but, pursued by the Romans, took his own life. Dacia was turned into a Roman province. The victory over Dacia became one of Trajan's greatest military victories and considerably enlarged the Roman Empire. And what do the "military trophies" mean? The weapons on the coin are a symbol of the captured army. In actual Roman depictions, a trophy might consist of shields, spears, swords, armour and the like. The captive Dacian next to these weapons symbolises the defeated people, not necessarily a specific historical person. On some varieties the characteristic Dacian headdress and weapons can be seen. Interestingly, the Romans used coins as a kind of "mass media": soldiers, merchants and the population of the provinces received them, and in this way imperial propaganda spread news of Trajan's victories throughout the empire. The Art Institute of Chicago also notes explicitly that coin reverses were used to display the emperor's achievements, in particular the conquest of Dacia.