Augustus Gold Aureus, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 170

Monetary Context and Imperial Reform

The emission of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 170 occurred during a transformative phase of Augustan monetary policy in the mid-to-late teens BC. Following the protracted instability of the civil wars, Augustus restructured the Roman monetary system around fixed tariff relationships between gold, silver, orichalcum, and copper. In this newly regulated hierarchy, the gold aureus functioned as the highest-value denomination, tariffed at twenty-five silver denarii or one hundred bronze sestertii. Aurei of this period were struck from exceptionally pure gold, typically exceeding ninety-eight to ninety-nine percent fineness, with a theoretical target weight calculated around 7.85 to 7.90 grams, representing one forty-second of a Roman pound. While the senatorial mint in Rome initially focused heavily on base-metal coinage, the production of imperial gold was increasingly decentralized to provincial centers located closer to substantial military deployments and logistical supply routes. Gold aurei like RIC 170 were primarily utilized for substantial fiscal disbursements, including military bonuses, legionary wages, and inter-provincial treasury transfers. By embedding specific political and religious imagery onto the highest-value coins, the Augustan regime ensured that senior officers, provincial elites, and wealthy merchants continually handled visual statements of imperial legitimacy and divine patronage.

Mint Operation and Production at Lugdunum

Numismatic scholarship securely attributes RIC 170 to the imperial mint of Lugdunum, established in Gallia Lugdunensis. Founded as a Roman colony in 43 BC, Lugdunum developed into the primary administrative hub of Gaul and occupied a strategic node connecting Italy with the northern frontier. Around 15 BC, Augustus undertook significant military operations in the Alpine region and Germania alongside his stepsons Drusus and Tiberius. To finance these campaigns efficiently without transporting massive quantities of bullion over the Alps from Rome, an imperial mint was opened at Lugdunum. Operating directly under imperial authority rather than senatorial oversight, Lugdunum quickly became the principal producer of gold and silver coinages for the entire Western Empire. The manufacture of RIC 170 involved meticulous quality control, reflecting the elite status of gold working in the early Principate. Blanks were cast and adjusted carefully to meet the prescribed weight standards, while dies were cut by highly skilled engravers influenced by Hellenistic and neo-Attic stylistic traditions. Die axes for this series are typically regular, frequently adhering to twelve o'clock or six o'clock alignments, characteristic of advanced workshop discipline at the Lugdunum establishment.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Image

The obverse of RIC 170 exhibits an unadorned, bare head of Augustus facing right, demonstrating the classical portrait style developed after 27 BC. Breaking away from the severe realism and aggressive verism of Late Republican portraiture, the Augustan court adopted an idealized, ageless countenance that conveyed calm authority, self-restraint, and divine tranquility. The hair is arranged in distinctive, graceful locks across the forehead, often identified in art-historical literature as the classic Primaporta hair scheme. Unlike later imperial portraits or concurrent military issues that frequently depicted the emperor wearing a laurel wreath, this type deliberately maintains a bare head. This choice emphasized civilian modesty, civic virtue (civilitas), and the Princeps's self-presentation as the first citizen rather than an absolute monarch. The die cutting exhibits exceptional clarity and proportion, with smooth planes defining the cheek and jaw, balanced by finely cut lettering along the peripheral border. The coin effectively communicates the permanence and rejuvenation of the Roman state through the youthful yet majestic visage of its founder.

Reverse Iconography: Apollo Actius

The reverse design presents Apollo standing toward the left, draped in a long, ceremonial palla or stola reaching to his feet. In his right hand, the deity holds a plectrum pointed downward, while his left hand supports a large lyre (cithara). This depiction represents Apollo Actius, also conceptualized as Apollo Citharoedus, celebrating both the god of musical harmony and the victorious patron of the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. Augustus attributed his triumph over Mark Antony and Cleopatra to the intervention of Apollo, whose ancient sanctuary overlooked the waters of the Ambracian Gulf near Actium. Following his victory, Augustus enlarged Apollo's coastal temple and subsequently dedicated a magnificent marble temple to Apollo on the Palatine Hill in Rome in 28 BC. By depicting Apollo not as an archer dispensing plague and destruction, but as a serene musician in long flowing robes, the reverse design emphasizes peaceful celebration, cultural restoration, and the Golden Age (saeculum aureum) heralded by the Ludi Saeculares of 17 BC. The composition balances religious devotion with political victory, portraying the restoration of cosmic and civil order under Augustan rule.

Epigraphic Analysis and Legend Formulations

The epigraphy of RIC 170 is concise, elegant, and packed with constitutional meaning. The obverse inscription reads AVGVSTVS DIVI F, running clockwise from the lower left. This formula combines the honorific name Augustus, bestowed by the Senate in 27 BC to denote religious sanctity and elevated authority, with the patronymic Divi Filius (abbreviated DIVI F), meaning 'son of the Divine [Julius Caesar]'. This lineage reasserted Augustus's unique connection to divine heritage while maintaining a dignified simplicity. The reverse carries two separate legend elements: IMP X positioned across the fields or flanking the figure of Apollo, and ACT placed in the lower exergue. The title IMP X records Augustus's tenth imperatorial acclamation, granted following military successes won in the northern frontier zone, specifically the victories of Tiberius and Drusus in the Alpine campaigns around 15 BC. The exergual abbreviation ACT explicitly identifies the deity as Apollo Actius, making an unambiguous textual reference to the Actian victory. The lettering is rendered in crisp, classical Latin capitals, executed with precise serif endings, mirroring the formal lapidary inscriptions of monument building during the Augustan architectural renaissance.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the sequence of Augustan imperial coinage, RIC 170 belongs to the first major series struck at the newly inaugurated Lugdunum mint, dated securely by the imperatorial acclamation IMP X to between 15 BC and 13 BC. Augustus received his tenth acclamation around 15 BC, and his eleventh acclamation (IMP XI) followed in 12 BC, establishing firm chronological boundaries for issues bearing the tenth title. RIC 170 represents the gold aureus denomination within a cohesive typological group that also included matching silver denarii (catalogued as RIC I (second edition) Augustus 171). The type is closely associated with contemporary issues from the same mint displaying Diana on the reverse (RIC 172 and 173), pairing the twin deities Apollo and Diana who served as principal guardians of the Augustan regime and the Saecular Games. Within the Apollo series, minor die engraving variations occur, particularly in the drapery folds of Apollo's garment, the size and structure of the lyre, and the exact placement of the letters IMP and X relative to the deity's body. However, the overarching compositional and epigraphic formula remained rigidly consistent, defining RIC 170 as an iconic individual type within the catalogued Lugdunum sequence.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Evidence

As high-value gold currency, aurei of RIC 170 moved along different economic pathways than routine silver denarii and bronze aes coinage. Aurei experienced much lower velocity of circulation and were rarely used in ordinary market transactions. Instead, they were accumulated as wealth reserves, used for substantial commercial agreements, or distributed to legionary commanders and civil magistrates. Consequently, specimens of this type often exhibit minimal wear compared to contemporary silver coinage, although some circulated over extended periods before being hoarded. Hoard evidence from Gaul, the Rhine frontier, and Italy demonstrates that Augustan aurei remained in active economic circulation well into the mid-first century AD, frequently appearing alongside issues of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero prior to the Neronian monetary reform of AD 64. Archaeological finds from military forts along the northern frontier confirm that Lugdunum gold functioned as an essential mechanism for funneling imperial wealth directly to the army. Due to the high intrinsic bullion value of gold, many specimens were eventually melted down in antiquity for re-coinage or conversion into jewelry, leaving well-preserved examples as precious survivors of early imperial art.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 78-81
2. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. pp. 110-125
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Augustus 170. Type ric.1(2).aug.170
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (Revised Edition). pp. 52-54, no. 170
5. The Imperial Mints of Lugdunum and Rome Under Augustus. pp. 15-28