Roman Gold Coins
The regular discoveries of hoards of Roman gold coins in Britain and other European countries shows how important and widespread they were during the height of the Roman Empire. Although other societies used gold as a means of exchange and store of value, it was only in Roman times that gold coins became truly established as a currency as we would understand it today. Before this, coins tended to be considered simply by virtue of their bullion value. There was no premium over the actual weight of gold contained in each coin. Roman coins had a value beyond this as the official currency of the empire.
In fact, it is only when Rome did become an empire that gold coins were produced in great quantities and entered circulation among the general population. Before the reign of Augustus, regarded as the first emperor of Rome, most coins used by Romans were made from silver, copper or bronze. There simply wasn't enough gold available to produce coins in sufficient numbers. As the empire expanded and grew richer, more and more gold became accessible and was used to mint coins. Although they continued to produce silver and copper coins, the entire Roman economy from this time onward was essentially based on gold.
Types of Roman Coins
There were many different types of coins produced throughout the long history of Rome. The most notable ones, however, were the aureus, made from gold, the denarius, made from silver, the sestertius, made from bronze and the as, made from copper.
The main gold coin of the Romans, the aureus, first made its appearance in quantity during the short reign of Julius Caesar. Before this time it had been produced occasionally but Caesar had enough coins struck to establish it as the most important and valuable coin in the whole Roman world. It was after this time that the aureus became the main means of running the empire. Taxes were raised in gold, soldiers were paid with these gold coins and most trade was based on it. Caesar also took the important step of setting a standard weight (approximately eight grams) for the aureus, although this was later reduced slightly by Emperor Nero.
One particular feature of the aureus is its purity. In contrast to many other gold coins of the time and of later periods, it was almost always minted at a level of ninety-nine per cent gold. In modern terms, it is considered to be twenty-four carat.
Although the aureus was the most important gold coin in Roman times, there was another gold coin introduced by Emperor Diocletian around 300 AD called the solidus. This coin was similar to the aureus in terms of its purity but weighed less, at approximately five and a half grams.
Gold Coins and Inflation in Roman Times
Some of the economic problems of the later period of the Roman Empire can be traced back to the importance and value of gold. The coins issued in other forms such as silver and copper were deliberately debased, with the actual quantity of each metal being substantially reduced over time. For example, the denarius was originally made from almost pure silver but the amount was gradually brought down and eventually it contained almost no silver at all. This led to its value quickly dropping compared to gold coins, producing a rapid inflation of prices for basic commodities.
The Value of Roman Gold Coins
As with all coins, the value of a particular Roman gold coin will depend on a number of factors. Most of these coins were marked with an image of the emperor of the time and the price you will have to pay for one depends mostly on its rarity value. Long-serving emperors obviously produced many more coins than shorter-serving ones and consequently these will be of less value. The basic laws of supply and demand operate in the market for Roman coins, so the lower the supply the greater the price will be. Particularly rare coins in good condition will require very deep pockets if you wish to obtain one.
