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Aureus, the early Roman Gold Coin is one of the most precious and rare gold collector coins of the era. It was a standard gold coin of the Roman Empire. The word Aureus means ‘golden’ in Roman language. Julius Caesar was the first emperor to introduce the Aureus into the general circulation. Before this the coin was used only for large transaction.
The Aureus had been produced and circulated from the 1st century BC till the early 4th century AD. During the reign of Caesar, Aureus were made of 99% pure gold and weighed around 8grams. After Caesar, during the reign of Nero, it was reconstructed with only 7.7grames of gold and went on suffering debasement. When Caracalla ascended the throne the weight was further reduced to 1/50th of a pound. The purity of gold decreased into bits and pieces of gold until 309 when it was finally replaced by the Solidus.
The Aureus during the reign of Vespasian (AD 69-79) was made of pure gold. The obverse of the coin featured a picture of the soldier emperor’s face. The reverse side depicted Ceres, a Roman goddess of corn holding ears of corn and a sceptre. The goddess symbolizes good harvest.
A very few Aureus have been found so far. This unavailability has made the price of an Aureus rise high. The price of an Augustus Aureus, with a diameter of 20mm and weight of 7.9grames currently stands US$237.
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