Gold Coin of Augustus

Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. AV Aureus (7.83 g, 6h). Lugdunum (Lyon) mint. 2nd emission, 10 BC. From CNG. Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com. Wikipedia user: Carlomorino.  CC-BY-SA-3.0.
Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14.
AV Aureus (7.83 g, 6h). Lugdunum (Lyon) mint. 2nd emission, 10 BC. From CNG. Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com. Wikipedia user: Carlomorino. CC-BY-SA-3.0.

Roman coins, like this aureus of the emperor Augustus, look deceptively like the coins that we use today. The Romans drew upon monetary traditions established by the Greeks before them to develop a comprehensive linked system of denominational coinage. By the reign of middle of the 1st century AD, millions of coins in gold, silver, brass and bronze were issued at Rome in the west and at the cities of the eastern Mediterranean. The subsequent development of coinage into the 5th century AD reflects the economic relationship between Rome and its conquered provinces. They were minted from metals mined in provinces like Hispania, Noricum and Dacia, and had their weight and purity adjusted in line with Imperial policy. They were used to pay the armies on the frontiers, to receive tax payments, as well as in commercial transactions and trade.  In the absence of news media in the Roman world, emperors also used coinage as a way of circulating their image and important ideological statements to their subjects. By studying the intensity with which Roman coins were used within the empire, we can get an idea of how far the Roman empire was economically and politically integrated.

Reading

Harl, K. 1996, Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 BC to AD 700. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Howgego, C., Heuchett, V. and Burnett, A. 1995. Coinage and Identity in the Roman Provinces. Oxford: OUP

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *