Augustus Gold Aureus, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 125

Monetary Context and Imperial Reform

In the decade following the political settlement of 27 BC, Augustus sought to stabilize the currency of the newly established Principate. The late Republican civil wars had dispersed regional coinages struck by rival imperators, leaving the Mediterranean world without a centralized or unified gold production system. While the Senate nominally supervised civic bronze coinage at Rome, Augustus initiated targeted emissions of precious metal in the western provinces, where military garrisons required secure remuneration and administrative costs were substantial. Hispania, recently pacified following the grueling Cantabrian Wars, provided both an urgent strategic necessity for coin distribution and significant mineral resources from the rich silver and gold mines of the Sierra Morena and northern territories. The aureus denominated under RIC I (second edition) Augustus 125 served as a high-value store of wealth, tariffed at twenty-five silver denarii or one hundred sestertii. Rather than catering solely to everyday local market transactions, this gold coinage underpinned state expenditures, diplomatic outlays, and large-scale commerce across the empire. The introduction of standardized imperial portraiture alongside cosmic and ideological emblems on western gold marked a decisive step toward transforming coinage into a primary vehicle for imperial panegyric, preparing the monetary terrain for the eventual consolidation of western imperial gold minting at Lugdunum.

Production Standards and Mint Attribution

The production of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 125 is traditionally attributed to the mint of Colonia Patricia, modern Cordoba, in Hispania Baetica. Earlier numismatic scholarship, including the pioneer arrangements of Harold Mattingly, often grouped this distinctive Spanish series under vague headings such as an uncertain Spanish mint or Caesaraugusta. However, modern die analyses, spatial distributions of hoards, and epigraphic associations refined by C. H. V. Sutherland established Colonia Patricia as the administrative hub for this major mid-teens BC precious metal output. The mint operated with an exceptionally high degree of metallurgical discipline and artistic sophistication. Surviving specimens of the type generally conform to an average weight standard clustering between 7.80 and 7.95 grams, aligning with the Augustan standard of forty-two aurei to the Roman pound (libra). The coin blanks were carefully cast, planished, and struck between deeply engraved bronze or iron dies. Die axis alignment in this series frequently exhibits a regular twelve o'clock or six o'clock orientation, indicating the adoption of mechanical or keyed die-alignment practices within the workshop. The style of engraving at Colonia Patricia is celebrated for its low, crisp relief and sensitive rendering of Augustan classicism, contrasting sharply with the coarser executions seen at peripheral military mints of the earlier triumviral era.

Obverse Iconography

The obverse of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 125 presents a sensitive, classicizing portrait of Augustus facing right, with his head bare. Distinctive for this specific catalogued issue, the obverse field is completely devoid of an inscription (anepigraphic). By omitting the customary titulature, triumphal titles, and magisterial markers, the die engravers focused undivided viewer attention upon the calm, idealized features of the princeps. The portrait exhibits the hallmark stylistic characteristics of early Augustan classicism: clean facial contours, a slightly aquiline nose, a firm chin, and the carefully arranged locks of hair over the forehead often compared to the Prima Porta statue type. The absence of a laurel wreath, which appeared commonly on later honorific emissions, accentuates the civic modesty Augustus cultivated in the years following the constitutional settlements of 27 and 23 BC. The portraiture produced at Colonia Patricia presents Augustus not as an aggressive autocrat, but as an ageless, serene protector of the Roman state, establishing an authoritative aesthetic standard that influenced portrait dies throughout the western provinces.

Reverse Iconography and Cosmic Symbolism

The reverse iconography of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 125 features the hybrid creature of the capricorn leaping or turned to the right. The creature is composed of the forequarters of a goat and the coiled tail of a fish. Between its front hooves, it grasps a terrestrial globe to which a ship's rudder is attached, while a cornucopia rises gracefully above its back. This complex assemblage combines astral, terrestrial, and nautical symbols to articulate the divine destiny and universal dominion of the princeps. Although Augustus was born under the solar sign of Libra in September, ancient sources such as Suetonius record that his conception occurred under the constellation of Capricorn, a sign associated with cosmic rebirth and the winter solstice. Augustus adopted the capricorn as his preeminent personal badge after the astrologer Theogenes cast his horoscope in Apollonia. On this aureus, the capricorn does not stand as an abstract astrological curiosity; it actively manipulates instruments of state. The globe signifies universal hegemony, the rudder indicates providential guidance over the state and naval victory (evoking Actium), and the horn of abundance (cornucopia) promises the economic prosperity that follows the restoration of peace (Pax Augusta). Together, these motifs form a cohesive ideological statement of cosmic legitimacy.

Epigraphy and Legends

The epigraphic structure of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 125 is characterized by extreme restraint. The obverse is completely anepigraphic, carrying no text whatsoever. The reverse bears only the single word legend AVGVSTVS, rendered in elegant, widely spaced classical Roman capitals beneath or adjacent to the capricorn device. The lettering exhibits sharp serifs and refined proportions, reflecting the superior epigraphic standards of the Colonia Patricia mint. The use of the sole name AVGVSTVS serves as both an identification of the authority and a sacred proclamation. Bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus by the Senate in January 27 BC, the title Augustus possessed deep religious and augural connotations, implying growth, sanctity, and reverence without explicitly assuming royal power. By pairing an anepigraphic obverse portrait with the reverent title on the reverse, the mint achieved an uncluttered, monumental composition. The omission of administrative titles such as TRIBVNICIA POTESTATE or imperatorial acclamations simplifies the message, relying on the visual power of the imperial visage and the recognized charisma of the Augustan name.

Typology and Chronological Placement

In the second edition of Roman Imperial Coinage Volume I, edited by C. H. V. Sutherland in 1984, the aureus catalogued as number 125 is placed within the extensive mid-reign precious metal series struck at Colonia Patricia, dated between roughly 18 BC and 17 BC. This emission directly corresponds in typology to the companion silver denarius catalogued as RIC I (second edition) Augustus 126, which features the identical pairing of the bare head obverse with the capricorn, globe, rudder, and cornucopia reverse. RIC 125 must be carefully distinguished from earlier and later iterations of the capricorn theme struck at other mints. For example, an earlier series struck in the East around 27 to 25 BC (such as RIC 541) typically depicts the capricorn without the globe and rudder, accompanied by different titular formulas. Similarly, later Lugdunese aurei and denarii struck around 12 BC introduce modified legends and different reverse orientations. Within the Patricia sequence itself, subtle die variations exist in the angle of the capricorn's body, the curvature of the horn of abundance, and the precise placement of the rudder relative to the globe. Sutherland assigned the series to the period immediately preceding the celebration of the Secular Games (Ludi Saeculares) of 17 BC, a pivotal moment of cultural renewal when golden age imagery reached its zenith in Augustan state communication.

Circulation, Hoarding, and Survival

As an imperial gold coin, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 125 possessed immense purchasing power upon its release and was not subjected to rapid everyday velocity in minor retail markets. Aurei moved primarily through formal fiscal channels: they were disbursed as military pay to legions stationed along the Rhine and in the Iberian interior, used for inter-provincial trade balances, and accumulated by wealthy elites as long-term capital reserves. Consequently, specimens of this issue circulated over extended geographic ranges, appearing in hoards discovered in modern Spain, France, Germany, and Italy. Because Augustus struck his aurei at high purity, exceeding ninety-nine percent fine gold, these pieces were actively hoarded and retained value across several reigns. Many remained in commercial circulation well into the Julio-Claudian period until Nero adjusted the weight standard of the aureus downward in AD 64, which incentivized the melting and recoining of heavier Augustan gold. Extant specimens of RIC 125 occasionally exhibit trace circulation wear, edge dings, or ancient banker marks, though a notable proportion survived in high state of preservation due to their protection in private domestic hoards and votive deposits.

References

1. Catalogue des monnaies de l'Empire romain, I: Auguste. nos. 968-975
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 56-58
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Augustus 125. ric.1(2).aug.125
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (Revised Edition). pp. 44-45, no. 125