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Aureus - Augustus CAESAR AVGVSTVS S P Q R CL V
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 20 BC - 19 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Bare, laureate head of Augustus facing right, rendered with finely detailed curly hair and a oak-wreath crown, in the Hellenistic portrait tradition. The effigy displays a youthful, idealised physiognomy characteristic of early Augustan coinage. The truncation of the neck is bare. The field is plain, and the coin is bordered by a beaded (dotted) inner border. The legend CAESAR AVGVSTVS appears on this side, affirming the ruler's dynastic title and imperial status. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
This issue belongs to a politically charged emission connected to the recovery of the Parthian standards lost at Carrhae in 53 BC — a humiliation Rome had nursed for over three decades. Augustus secured their return through diplomacy in 20 BC, but the coinage framed the event as a military triumph. The Senate voted him a triumphal arch on the Capitoline to mark the occasion.
The CL V reference in the type designation relates to the *clipeus virtutis* — the golden shield voted by the Senate in 27 BC citing Augustus's courage, clemency, justice, and piety. Its appearance on coinage of this period ties the Parthian settlement directly to Augustan propaganda about restored Roman dignity.