View source for Aureus

{{Short description|Gold coin of ancient Rome}}
{{Other uses|Aureus (disambiguation)}}
{{Italic title}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2008}}
[[File:Aureus Septimius Severus-193-leg XIIII GMV.jpg|thumb|300px|''Aureus'' minted in 193 by [[Septimius Severus]] to celebrate [[Legio XIV Gemina]], the legion that proclaimed him emperor]]
The '''''aureus''''' (<small>{{abbr|pl.|plural}}</small> '''''aurei''''', 'golden', used as a noun) was a [[gold coin]] of [[ancient Rome]] originally valued at 25 pure silver ''[[denarius|denarii]]'' (sin. ''denarius''). The ''aureus'' was regularly issued from the 1st century BC to the beginning of the 4th century AD, when it was replaced by the ''[[solidus (coin)|solidus]]''. The ''aureus'' was about the same size as the ''denarius'', but heavier (since [[gold]] has a higher [[density]] than [[silver]]).

Before the time of [[Julius Caesar]] the ''aureus'' was struck infrequently. Caesar struck the coin more often, and standardized the weight at <math>\tfrac{1}{40}</math> of a [[Roman pound]] (about 8 [[gram]]s). [[Augustus]] ({{Reign|27 BC|AD 14}}) tariffed the value of the ''[[sestertius]]'' as <math>\tfrac{1}{100}</math> of an ''aureus''.

The mass of the ''aureus'' was decreased to <math>\tfrac{1}{45}</math> of a Roman pound (7.3 g) during the reign of [[Nero]] (r. 54–68). At about the same time the purity of the silver coinage was also slightly decreased.

[[File:Octavian aureus circa 30 BCE.jpg|thumb|left|''Aureus'' of [[Augustus|Octavian]], {{Circa|30 BC}}]]
After the reign of [[Marcus Aurelius]] (r. 161–180) the production of ''aurei'' decreased, and the weight fell to <math>\tfrac{1}{50}</math> of a  Roman pound (6.5 g) by the time of [[Caracalla]] (r. 211–217). During the 3rd century, gold pieces were introduced in a variety of fractions and multiples, making it hard to determine the intended denomination of a gold coin.<ref>
{{cite web |last1=The Imperial Roman Economy |title=Hoarding, Gresham's Law and All That |url=https://www.forumancientcoins.com/historia/de-basement/economy.html |website=forumancientcoins.com}}
</ref>
During [[Gallienus|Gallienus’s]] reign, the purity was briefly reduced to 94%, and a small amount of coins were minted with as low as 80% purity. This was reset back to 99% by the next emperor.<ref name="Scheidel"/>

The ''solidus'' was first introduced by [[Diocletian]] (r. 284–305) around 301 AD, struck at 60 to the Roman pound of pure gold (and thus weighing about 5.45 g each) and with an initial value equal to 1,000 ''denarii''.<ref name="Scheidel">{{cite web | url=https://www.princeton.edu/~pswpc/pdfs/scheidel/020803.pdf | title=Princeton Classics }}</ref>
However, Diocletian's ''solidus'' was struck only in small quantities, and thus had only minimal economic effect, although its stable weight brought an end to the instability that had existed for a while. Since only one document of Diocletian's time uses this word to describe the coin, numismatists usually reserve the name "solidus" for the coin that was introduced later by Constantine the Great.

When the ''solidus'' was reintroduced by [[Constantine I]] (r. 306–337) in 312 AD, permanently replacing the ''aureus'' as the gold coin of the Roman Empire, it was struck at a rate of 72 to a Roman pound of pure gold, each coin weighing twenty-four Greco-Roman carats, or about 4.5 grams of gold per coin. By this time, the ''solidus'' was worth 275,000 of the increasingly debased ''denarii''.

However, regardless of the size or weight of the ''aureus'', the coin's purity was little affected. Analysis of the Roman ''aureus'' shows the purity level usually to have been near to 24 [[Carat (purity)|carat]] gold, so in excess of 99% pure.

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left:1.5em;"
|+'''Gold content'''
!|Emperor!! |Year!! |Gold content!! style="text-align:center;"|Julius Caesar Aureus 
|-
|Julius Caesar||50 BC|| 8.18 grams||1.000
|-
|Augustus||23 BC|| 7.75 grams||0.95
|-
|Nero||64 AD||7.27 grams||0.889
|-
|Caracalla||213 AD||6.55 grams||0.800
|-
|Severus Alexander ||235 AD||6.08 grams<ref name="Scheidel"/>||0.740
|-
|Gordian III ||240 AD||4.96 grams<ref name="Scheidel"/>||0.610
|-
|Decius ||250 AD||3.58 grams<ref name="Scheidel"/>||0.440
|-
|Gallienus ||255 AD||3.40 grams<ref name="Scheidel"/> (94% pure)||0.420
|-
|Gallienus ||265 AD||3.07 grams<ref name="Scheidel"/> (85% pure)||0.380
|-
|Claudius Gothicus ||269 AD||5.38 grams<ref name="Scheidel"/>||0.660
|-
|Diocletian||301 AD||5.45 grams||0.667 
|-
|Constantius Chlorus||305 AD||4.55 grams<ref name="Scheidel"/>||0.556 
|}

Due to runaway inflation caused by the Roman government's issuing base-metal coinage but refusing to accept anything other than silver or gold for tax payments, the value of the gold ''aureus'' in relation to the ''denarius'' grew drastically. Inflation was also affected by the systematic debasement of the silver ''[[Denarius|denarius]]'', which by the mid-3rd century had practically no silver left in it.

In 301, one gold ''aureus'' was worth 833⅓ denarii; by 324, the same ''aureus'' was worth 4,350 ''denarii''. In 337, after Constantine converted to the ''solidus'', one ''solidus'' was worth 275,000 ''denarii'' and finally, by 356, one ''solidus'' was worth 4,600,000 ''denarii''.

Today, the ''aureus'' is highly sought after by collectors because of its purity and value, as well as its historical interest. An ''aureus'' is usually much more expensive than a ''denarius'' issued by the same emperor. For instance, in one auction, an ''aureus'' of [[Trajan]] (r. 98–117) sold for $15,000, and a silver coin of the same emperor sold for $100. The most expensive ''aureus'' ever sold was one issued in 42 BC by [[Marcus Junius Brutus]], the assassin of [[Gaius Julius Caesar]], which had a price realized of $3.5 million in November 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://robbreport.com/shelter/art-collectibles/roman-aureus-coin-julius-caesar-record-1234578781/ |title=Goldberg Coins and Collectibles |publisher=Images.goldbergauctions.com |access-date=2014-06-07}}</ref> (There is an example of this coin on permanent display at the [[British Museum]] in London.) An ''aureus'', issued by the emperor [[Alexander Severus]] (r. 222–235), has a picture of the [[Colosseum]] on the reverse, and had a price realized of $920,000 in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://images.goldbergauctions.com/php/chap_auc.php?site=1&lang=1&sale=46&chapter=2&page=2 |title=Goldberg Coins and Collectibles |publisher=Images.goldbergauctions.com |access-date=2014-06-07}}</ref> An ''aureus'' with the face of [[Allectus]] was auctioned off in the United Kingdom for £552,000 in June 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-xl/europe/europe-top-stories/metal-detectorist-ecstatic-after-find-on-farm-turns-out-to-be-ultra-rare-roman-coin-fetching-%C2%A3552000-at-auction/ar-AACCz9n?li=BBKxJ6T&ocid=iehp|title=Metal detectorist 'ecstatic' after find on farm turns out to be ultra-rare Roman coin fetching £552,000 at auction|website=msn.com|access-date=2019-06-10}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Numismatics}}
*[[Roman currency]]
*[[Coinage reform of Augustus]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
*[http://monetaoro.unicatt.it/ Online numismatic exhibit: "This round gold is but the image of the rounder globe" (H. Melville). The charm of gold in ancient coinage] {{in lang|it}}

{{Roman coinage}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Coins of ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Gold coins]]
[[Category:1st century BC]]