Augustus Aureus, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 78

Monetary and Political Context

The monetary system under Augustus underwent extensive structural reform during the 20s and teens BC. Prior to this period, Roman gold coinage had been struck intermittently during the late Republic and civil wars, primarily to meet immediate military exigencies. Following his consolidation of sole rule and the formal constitutional settlement of 27 BC, Augustus established a stable bimetallic and trimetallic currency framework based on standardized relations between the gold aureus, the silver denarius, and newly revitalized base-metal denominations. The aureus functioned as the primary accounting and high-value transactional unit of the empire, tariffed at twenty-five silver denarii or one hundred sestertii. By striking gold issues like RIC I (second edition) Augustus 78 in Spain, the administration fulfilled critical state expenditures outside the capital, such as paying legionary forces deployed in the Cantabrian campaigns, providing retirement bonuses for veterans, and funding major provincial infrastructure projects.

Production and Mint Attribution

RIC I (second edition) Augustus 78 is catalogued under the mint of Colonia Patricia, modern Cordoba, located in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica. In earlier twentieth-century numismatic literature, many of the Spanish issues featuring Augustan portraiture were attributed to a broader unidentified Spanish mint or tentatively assigned to Caesaraugusta. Comprehensive die studies and stylistic re-evaluations, notably consolidated in the revised 1984 edition of Roman Imperial Coinage Volume I by C. H. V. Sutherland, identified two primary Spanish mints active between circa 20 BC and 16 BC: Colonia Patricia and Emerita. The Colonia Patricia facility is recognized by its fine Hellenistic stylistic rendering of Augustus's portrait, distinctive die-cutting technique, and high technical quality in flan preparation and striking. The production of gold at this center was intensive yet chronologically concentrated, supplying high-purity aurei calibrated to approximately forty-two pieces to the Roman pound (libra).

Obverse Typology and Portraiture

The obverse of this aureus presents a right-facing bare head of Augustus without additional attributes such as a laurel wreath or lituus. The portrait style reflects the sophisticated neoclassical iconography adopted during the early principate, moving deliberately away from the aggressive, veristic, or triumviral portraiture of Octavian's youth. The facial features are youthful, idealized, and composed, exhibiting a calm and authoritative demeanor. Die cutters at Colonia Patricia rendered the hair in distinct, layered locks curving across the forehead and temples, consistent with contemporary court sculpture like the Prima Porta model. Surrounding the portrait is the inscription CAESAR AVGVSTVS, oriented along the perimeter. Minor stylistic variations exist across recorded dies, particularly in the truncation of the neck and the precise arrangement of hair locks, but the bareheaded right-facing scheme remains strictly uniform for this catalogue entry.

Reverse Iconography: Clipeus Virtutis and Corona Civica

The reverse iconography of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 78 directly references the constitutional honors voted to the emperor by the Senate in 27 BC. At the center rests a round votive shield inscribed in two lines with S P Q R / C L V, representing the clipeus virtutis. According to the Res Gestae Divi Augusti, this golden shield was dedicated in the Curia Julia to celebrate Augustus's virtus, clementia, iustitia, and pietas. Enclosing the shield is a lush oak wreath, known as the corona civica, an ancient military honor awarded to soldiers who had saved a fellow citizen in battle. The Senate bestowed this wreath upon Augustus for saving the entire commonwealth from destructive civil conflict. Encircling the wreath is the explanatory phrase OB CIVIS SERVATOS ('for saving the citizens'). The harmonious synthesis of the shield, wreath, and accompanying legends created a definitive emblem of Augustan political legitimacy.

Epigraphy and Legends

The epigraphy of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 78 is marked by disciplined, classical Roman capital letters. The obverse reads CAESAR AVGVSTVS, displaying the primary titular identity assumed following the settlement of 27 BC. By combining the ancestral name Caesar with the sacral title Augustus, the legend emphasized dynastic legitimacy alongside divine favor without invoking republican political offices like the consulship or tribunician power on the flan. The reverse legend OB CIVIS SERVATOS serves as the grammatical dedication explaining the award of the civic wreath, written with the archaic spelling of the accusative plural 'civis' common on early imperial coins. Within the field of the shield, the abbreviated formula S P Q R signifies Senatus Populusque Romanus ('The Senate and the Roman People'), while C L V abbreviates Clipeus Virtutis. The integration of text directly onto the depicted shield mirrors monumental Roman epigraphic practice.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Catalogued specifically as RIC I (second edition) Augustus 78, this aureus belongs to a tight chronological horizon fixed to approximately 19 BC. It is closely related to contemporaneous silver denarii bearing similar combinations of the oak wreath, the clipeus virtutis, and related civic inscriptions. Within Sutherland's revised typology, type 78 is distinguished from adjacent varieties by the precise combination of a bare right-facing bust on the obverse and the enclosed inscribed shield within the oak wreath accompanied by OB CIVIS SERVATOS on the reverse. For instance, RIC 77 presents a left-facing bust with comparable reverse motifs, while other closely numbered types place the legends outside or dispense with the wreath entirely. The issuance of these types coincided with Augustus's diplomatic recovery of the lost legionary standards from Parthia and the final pacification of northern Hispania, moments celebrated by regional mints using symbolic civil honors rather than overtly aggressive militaristic triumphalism.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Survival

Gold aurei of this series functioned as immense stores of value and did not circulate freely in daily retail trade, where bronze and silver predominated. Instead, they served high-level military transactions, administrative stipends, and inter-provincial transfers. Due to their high intrinsic purity of over ninety-eight percent fine gold, Augustan aurei remained in active monetary circulation or treasury reserves for decades, occasionally lingering into the Julio-Claudian and Flavian eras before being remelted under Nero's or Trajan's monetary standard adjustments. Hoard discoveries across Spain, Gaul, and the wider Mediterranean Basin attest to the wide dispersion of Colonia Patricia aurei. Surviving specimens of RIC 78 are preserved primarily in institutional cabinets and select private collections, often displaying gentle wear from handling or traces of ancient hoarding environments.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 64-67
2. RIC I (second edition) Augustus 78 - Online Coins of the Roman Empire. ric.1(2).aug.78
3. Res Gestae Divi Augusti. Chapter 34
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (revised edition). p. 43, no. 78
5. Roman History and Coinage, 44 BC - AD 69: Fifty Points of Relation. pp. 38-42