Aureus

to celebrate Legio XIV Gemina, the legion that proclaimed him emperor The aureus ( aurei, 'golden') was the main gold coin of ancient Rome from the 1st century BC to the early 4th century AD, when it was replaced by the solidus. This type of coin was sporadically issued during the Republic and standardized during the Empire, originally valued at 25 silver denarii and 100 sestertii. It was about the same size as the denarius, but heavier than the denarius since gold is denser than silver.

to celebrate Legio XIV Gemina, the legion that proclaimed him emperor The aureus ( aurei, 'golden') was the main gold coin of ancient Rome from the 1st century BC to the early 4th century AD, when it was replaced by the solidus. This type of coin was sporadically issued during the Republic and standardized during the Empire, originally valued at 25 silver denarii and 100 sestertii. It was about the same size as the denarius, but heavier than the denarius since gold is denser than silver. File:2 scrupulum coin.JPG|Issue worth 40 (XXXX) asses, 211 BC. The obverse depicts the god Mars. File:L. Sulla & L. Manlius Torquatus, aureus, 82 BC, RRC 367-4.jpg|Issue minted by Sulla, 82 BC. The obverse depicts Roma. File:C. Julius Caesar and L. Munatius Plancus, aureus, 45 BC, RRC 475-1a.jpg|Issue minted by Caesar, 45 BC. The obverse depicts Victory. In the years following 87 BC, and in exceptional circumstances, the general Sulla resumed issuing gold coins during his campaign in Greece. Disowned by the Senate and deprived of its financial support, he seized the treasures of the Greeks and used them to issue gold or silver coins bearing his name. These issues also served a propaganda purpose during the ensuing civil war. In 49 BC , Julius Caesar, claiming that the Republic was in danger, seized the gold reserve of the public treasury and used it alongside his personal wealth during his civil war. The minting of the aureus resumed in itinerant workshops following the movements of Caesar's legions, then in Rome, at the standard weight equivalent to one-fortieth of a Roman pound, about 8 grams. This coin, made of pure gold, was called aureus nummus or denarius aureus, "gold denarius". Shortly before his death, Caesar began issuing silver coins with his own portrait, a departure from traditional coinage. The period following the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC saw competition between various factions, each mobilizing its own army and paying its soldiers in gold coins. Mints competing with that of Rome multiplied in Italy, Gaul, Roman Africa, Sicily, along with itinerant ones depending on the movements of the armies. Each faction leader had his effigy and emblems struck: the triumvirs (Mark Antony, Lepidus and Caesar's nephew Octavian), the "liberators" Brutus and Cassius Longinus, and Sextus Pompey (the son of Pompey the Great). Octavian became sole master of the Roman world in 31 BC, after defeating his last opposition at Actium. Four years later, in 27 BC, he assumed the name and title of Augustus, marking his accession as the first Roman emperor. File:Marcus Iunius Brutus 10100420.jpg|Issue by Brutus, 42 BC. File:Aureus Sextus Pompeius 42BC Goldberg.JPG|Issue by Sextus Pompey, 42 BC. File:Aureus of Antony & Octavian, 40 BC.jpg|Issue by Antony and Octavian, 40 BC. File:Gold Aureus of Augustus (obverse).png|1. Augustus File:Gold aureus of Tiberius.jpg|2. Tiberius File:Caligula&Germanicus Aureus (obverse).jpg|3. Caligula File:Aureus of Claudius (obverse).jpeg|4. Claudius File:Gold Aureus of Nero.png|5. Nero File:Galba, aureus (obverse).jpg|6. Galba File:Gold Aureus of Otho.jpg|7. Otho File:Vitellius, aureus, 69, RIC I 85 (obverse).jpg|8. Vitellius File:INC-2056-a Ауреус. Веспасиан. Ок. 75—79 гг. (аверс).png|9. Vespasian File:Rare aureus of Titus (obverse).jpg|10. Titus File:INC-1882-a Ауреус. Домициан. Ок. 87 г. (аверс).png|11. Domitian File:Nerva aureus (obverse).png|12. Nerva File:TRAJAN RIC II 257 (obverse).png|13. Trajan File:Hadrian RIC II 308 (obverse).jpg|14. Hadrian File:INC-1833-a Ауреус Антонин Пий ок. 153-154 гг. (аверс).png|15. Antoninus File:INC-1817-a Ауреус Марк Аврелий ок. 166-167 гг. (аверс).png|16. Marcus File:INC-2957-a Ауреус. Луций Вер. Ок. 163—164 гг. (аверс).png|17. Lucius File:INC-1818-a Ауреус Коммод ок. 186-187 гг. (аверс).png|18. Commodus File:Aureus of Pertinax (obverse).jpg|19. Pertinax File:Aureus Didius Iulianus (obverse).jpg|20. Julianus File:Septimius Severus. AD 193-211 (obverse).jpg|21. Severus File:Caracalla RIC 4A-211b (obverse).jpg|22. Caracalla File:Rare aureus of Geta (obverse).jpg|23. Geta File:Aureus Macrinus-RIC 0079 (cropped).jpg|24. Macrinus File:INC-1854-a Ауреус Элагабал ок. 218-219 гг. (аверс).png|25. Elagabalus File:INC-1855-a Ауреус Север Александр ок. 228 г. (аверс).png|26. Alexander

See also

Roman currency Coinage reform of Augustus

References

External links

Online numismatic exhibit: "This round gold is but the image of the rounder globe" (H.Melville). The charm of gold in ancient coinage

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1358464396 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.