Augustus Gold Aureus, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 60

Monetary and Political Context

The introduction of the aureus under Augustus marked the stabilization of the Roman monetary system following decades of civil conflict and monetary disarray. The civil wars of the late Republic had witnessed extensive decentralized military minting, during which rival imperators struck irregular issues of aurei and denarii to pay their legions. After consolidating sole power in the aftermath of Actium in 31 BC and formalizing the constitutional framework of the Principate in 27 BC, Augustus sought to reconstitute the Roman gold coinage as an enduring, universally recognized imperial medium. Gold was not minted continuously in the city of Rome during the early Principate; instead, provincial branch mints initially provided the primary volume of precious-metal coinage required for military payrolls and regional administration. In 20 BC, Augustus secured a signature foreign policy success without resorting to a costly Eastern campaign. Through concerted diplomatic pressure, the Parthian king Phraates IV agreed to return the legionary standards and surviving Roman prisoners captured at the disaster of Carrhae in 53 BC and during Mark Antony's campaigns in 40 and 36 BC. For Roman society, the loss of these sacred standards had been a national disgrace and a persistent religious trauma. Augustus seized upon their recovery to launch an extensive ideological campaign across architecture, literature, and coinage. The issue of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 60 in 19 BC formed an integral part of this celebration, disseminating the message that under Augustus' auspicious leadership, Roman honor had been restored and the Republic avenged.

Production and Mint Attribution

The production of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 60 is securely attributed by modern numismatic consensus to Colonia Patricia, modern Cordoba, the capital of the Roman province of Hispania Baetica. While older nineteenth-century scholarship frequently assigned these Spanish issues to uncertain eastern mints or vague military traveling workshops, the systematic corpus work of Harold Mattingly and subsequent revisions by C.H.V. Sutherland established clear stylistic, metallurgical, and hoard criteria identifying Colonia Patricia as the issuing center. The mint operated actively during the mid-teens BC, striking substantial series of aurei and denarii to support imperial operations, administrative expenses, and legionary presence in the Iberian peninsula. Colonia Patricia employed highly skilled engravers whose aesthetic treatments differed notably from the earlier, more rugged military issues of Emerita or Caesaraugusta. The dies used for RIC I (second edition) Augustus 60 demonstrate precise engraving technique, crisp lettering, and balanced spatial composition. Struck in exceptionally pure gold, typically exceeding 98 to 99 percent fine, these aurei adhered to the Augustan weight standard of approximately forty-two pieces to the Roman pound (libra), yielding a theoretical target weight of approximately 7.85 to 7.90 grams. The alignment of the dies at Colonia Patricia during this period often varies, though an approximate twelve o'clock or six o'clock axis is common, reflecting careful workshop organization without absolute mechanical standardization.

Obverse Iconography

The obverse of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 60 presents a refined portrait of Augustus, facing right. The head is depicted bare, without the laurel wreath, oak wreath, or any other explicit numinous attributes that would become more standard in later decades of his rule. The portrait embodies the classicizing Augustan style that matured in the late 20s BC, transitioning away from the veristic, individualized, and often tense portraiture of the triumviral era toward an idealized, serene image of eternal youth and civic dignity. The features are rendered with harmonious proportions: a straight nasal bridge, clean jawline, lightly parted or composed lips, and carefully delineated locks of hair that curl gently over the forehead in the characteristic manner observed in the Prima Porta statue type. This restraint in self-representation reflected the official posture of the early Principate, wherein Augustus presented himself as the first citizen (princeps) and restorer of the Republic rather than an absolute monarch. The absence of ostentatious royal trappings on the obverse served to reassure traditional Roman sensibilities while firmly establishing the princeps as the personal guarantor of the state.

Reverse Iconography and Mars Ultor

The reverse design displays Mars, the god of war, standing facing left with his head turned back to the right. The god is depicted in heroic military dress, wearing a crested helmet and a soldier's cloak (paludamentum) draped over his shoulders. In his right hand, Mars holds an aquila, the legionary eagle standard topped with outstretched wings, while in his left hand he carries a standard (signum cohortale) adorned with military phalerae. This dynamic posture, with the deity standing poised between the two standards, visually captures the physical act of custody and reclamation. The appearance of Mars on this issue directly anticipates the cult of Mars Ultor (Mars the Avenger). Augustus had originally vowed a temple to Mars Ultor at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC to avenge the assassination of Julius Caesar, but the deity took on a renewed, outward-facing dimension following the diplomatic submission of the Parthians. The recovered standards were initially housed in a temporary round temple of Mars Ultor on the Capitoline Hill, dedicated around 19 BC, before their eventual transfer to the grand Forum of Augustus in 2 BC. On this aureus, Mars is not depicted in violent combat, but as the divine guardian who has peacefully received back the lost emblems of Roman martial prowess.

Epigraphy and Legends

The epigraphy of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 60 is concise and unadorned, reflecting the restrained artistic program of the Colonia Patricia mint. The obverse carries the single word legend AVGVSTVS, positioned neatly around the portrait. This simple title, conferred by the Roman Senate in January of 27 BC, carried profound religious and political resonance, evoking augury, sacred authority, and divine favor without using traditional monarchical terminology or military ranks. The reverse inscription reads SIGNIS RECEPTIS, meaning 'the standards having been recovered'. Arranged in an open arc within the field surrounding the figure of Mars, the ablative absolute formulation conveys a factual and permanent achievement. The lettering is characterized by clean, classical Roman capitals with discreet serifs, exhibiting proportional spacing and balanced curves on the 'S' and 'G'. In contrast to the elaborate bureaucratic titulature of the later Roman Empire, this pairing of AVGVSTVS with SIGNIS RECEPTIS distilled the essence of Augustan legitimacy into an economical, immediately comprehensible statement of national redemption.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard classification established in the revised second edition of Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC I), type 60 occupies a defined place within the extensive series of recovered-standards issues struck at Colonia Patricia in 19 BC. Sutherland established the sequence based on progressive stylistic developments, hoard associations, and the concurrent striking of denarii and aurei sharing identical reverse themes. Type 60 is specifically characterized by the bare head right on the obverse paired with the standing Mars holding both the aquila and the signum. Type 60 must be distinguished from closely related contemporary issues within the same mint series. For example, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 59 presents an obverse with the head of Augustus facing left rather than right, while other catalogue types at Colonia Patricia feature Mars holding a standard and a trophy, or place the recovered standards inside a domed tetrastyle temple of Mars Ultor (such as RIC I 68 through 74). Parallel issues were also produced at eastern mint workshops (such as Pergamum) and later at Rome under senatorial moneyers in 18 to 16 BC, but those are readily distinguished by their differing portrait styles, distinct reverse compositions, and expanded mintmaster legends.

Circulation, Hoards, and Survival

As high-value gold denominations, aurei of this series functioned primarily as stores of substantial wealth, media for large-scale commercial transactions, and instruments of state expenditure such as military donatives and officer salaries. Unlike the base-metal quadrantes, asses, and dupondii that circulated rapidly and suffered heavy wear in local retail trade, gold aurei circulated at a much slower velocity and were frequently hoarded during times of political uncertainty or personal need. Specimens of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 60 have been documented in mixed imperial hoards from the western provinces, including Hispania, Gaul, and the Rhine frontier, illustrating how provincial mint products moved rapidly across regional military corridors. Many surviving examples show only moderate circulation wear, consistent with long-term retention in bullion reserves before eventual burial. Because the gold standard established by Augustus remained remarkably stable until the reign of Nero in 64 AD, early aurei like RIC I 60 continued to circulate and maintain full tariffed value alongside later Julio-Claudian issues for well over half a century.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 64-65
2. Catalogue des monnaies de l'Empire romain, I: Auguste. nos. 970-975
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Augustus 60. RIC I (second edition) Augustus 60
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (revised edition). p. 48, no. 60