Aureus

Mint

Type of mark

Years of function

Alexandria (Egypt)

AL, SMAL, ALE, ALEX

closed in 294

Ambianum – Amiens (France)

AMB, AMBI

350-353

Antioch

AN, SMAN, ANT, ANTOB

closed

Aquileia (Italy)

AQ, SMAQ, AQOB, AQPS,

294-425

Arles (Arelatum/Constantina)

A, CONST, KON, KONSTAN, AR, ARL, CON

313-475

Spain

BA, SMBA

409-411

Camulodunum

C, CL

287-296

Klauzent

C, CL

unknown

Carthage (Tunisia)

K, KART, PK, KAR

296-311

Constantinople (Istambul, Turkey)

C, CONSP, CONOB, CP, CON, CONS

since 326

Cyzicus (Turkey)

CVZ, K, KV, KVZ, KY, SMK, CVZIC, CYZ, CYZIC

closed

Heraclea (Turkey)

H, HER, HERACL, HT, SMH, HERAC, HERACI

closed in 291

Londinium – London (Britain)

L, ML, MLL, MLN, MSL, PLN, PLON, AVG, AVGOB, AVGPS, LI, LN, LON

287-325 and 383-388

Lugdunum – Lyon (France)

LD, LG, LVG, LVGD, LVGPS, PLG

closed in 423

Mediolanum – Milan (Italy)

MD, MDOB, MDPS, MED

364-475

Nicomedia (Izmit, Turkey)

MN, N, NIK, SMN, NIC, NICO

closed in 294

Ostia (Italy)

MOST, OST

308-313

Ravenna (Italy)

RAV, RV, RVPS

5 century AD

Rome (Italy)

R, ROMOB, SMR, VRB, ROM, RM, ROM, ROMA

closed in 476

Serdica (Sophia, Bulgaria)

SD, SERD, SMSD, SER

303-308 and 313-314

Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia)

SIR, SIRM, SM, SIROB

320-326, 351-364, 379, 393-395

Siscia (Sisak, Croatia)

S, SISCPS, SIS, SISC

closed in 387

Thessalonica (Salonika, Greece)

COM, THS, THES, THSOB, TE, TES, TESOB, TH, TS, OES, COMOB, SMTS, TH

closed in 298

Ticinum (Pavia, Italy)

Т

closed in 326

Treveri (Trier, Germany)

SMTR, TROB, TRPS, TR, TRE

291 – 430

Denomination and the year of issue

The name of the coin

Price ($ USD)

1 aureus 63 BC

Augustus

7 768,46

1 aureus 13-37 AD

Tiberius

5 862,99

1 aureus 41 AD

Claudius

18 848,00

1 aureus 117-138 AD

Interesting Facts

• Emperor Alexander Severus (full name Caesar Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Augustus) reigned from 222 to 235 AD. Legionnaires killed him together with his mother, Julia Mammea, and the family of Severus was destroyed. During his rule the gold and silver coins of the Roman Empire were represented not only by aureus, but also by quinarii, denarii, sestertii, dupondius, and assies. It goes without saying that in parallel, aurei were minted with the names of his mother and wife − Barbia Orbiana.
• On the aureus of Alexander Sever, Pax was depicted as the mythological goddess of prosperity and peace. It is usually depicted with a cornucopia, caduceus or kerikion (Hermes rod), wheat ears and an olive branch. They minted this image on other coins of the Roman Empire.
• The Roman emperor, Hadrian, whose love for the Greeks earned him the nickname “Greek” (Graeculus), was an honorary citizen of Athens. The Athenians knew about the contribution of Hadrian to the development and formation of Greece, therefore they supported and worshiped him. The golden aureus, issued by Adrian, reflected this his love for Greece and were the most revered coins.
• Even during the reign of Emperor Septimius, in addition to the mint, there were also so-called “eastern” mints in Rome, which were distinguished by a very low quality of coin minting.

• The mint in Latakia, which began its work during the Persian military campaign and existed between 197 and 202, is no less famous. This courtyard minted coins with portraits of all members of the imperial family. It is worth noting that the quality of Latakian coins in comparison with coins of other mints is not very high, and the portraits of the emperor and members of the imperial family are made in the popular print manner, more caricatured than reliably.
• The coins of the Alexandrian Mint during the reign of the Emperor of the North have their own unique design with a more elongated portrait image and the same elongated letters and numbers. Here also minted and coins for Julia Domna.
• The gold aureus of Marcus Aurelius’s coinage corresponded to 25 silver denarii, namely, this amount was paid as a monthly salary to Roman legionnaires.
• Prices for ordinary good quality woolen and silk fabrics in 305 n. e. ranged from 16 numumies and 10 aureus per pound, respectively, and the cost of richly dyed silk fabrics with gold threads reached 125 aureus per pound, which is three times more expensive than the weight of gold. Obviously, such fabrics were intended for the emperor and his suite to be sewn.
• For 1 golden aureus in the period of the Roman Empire, you could buy 400 liters of cheap wine or 91 kg of flour. This price level existed until 300 AD. e. The supply of gold from Spain and Eastern Europe has not decreased, which led to the introduction of a new gold currency − solid.
• In 23 BC. e. Emperor Augustus equated 25 denarii to one golden aureus. It is worth noting that for the first time the gold aurei minted Caesar in 40 BC. e., their weight was 8 g., and during the reign of Emperor Nero, he began to weigh only 7.2 g. Based on this, the denarius weighed about 0.32 g of gold, for which it was possible to buy 1 kilogram of bread.