page_title: Dacian Draco
section_title: Roman coins of Dacia
hierarchical_section_title: Dacian Draco / Representations of the Dacian Draco / Roman coins of Dacia
caption_attribution_description: English: Representation of Dacia standing with draco in right hand (military standard) on a silver antoninianus of Trajan Decius. The coin is commonly dated AD 250-251. On many variants the wolf head of the standard is barely recognizable, but it is very clear on this example.
context_page_description: The Dacian Draco was the standard ensign of troops of the ancient Dacian people, which can be seen in the hands of the soldiers of Decebalus in several scenes depicted on Trajan's Column in Rome, Italy. It has the form of a dragon with open wolf-like jaws containing several metal tongues. The hollow dragon's head was mounted on a pole with a fabric tube affixed at the rear. In use, the draco was held up into the wind, or above the head of a horseman, where it filled with air and gave the impression it was alive while making a shrill sound as the wind passed through its strips of material.
context_section_description: The draco appears on coins of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius (r.138–161 AD), indicating that it was still the characteristic emblem in the 2nd century. In AD 250 on a coin of Decius the Roman province of Dacia holds a wolf- or hound-dragon standard. The same type also occurs on antoniniani coins of Claudius Gothicus (r.268–270) and Aurelian (r.270–275).
caption: Dacia with draco on antoninianus of Trajan Decius, AD 250-251
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