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Aureus - Augustus IMP XII ACT, Apollo
| Issuer | Roman Empire (27 BC - 395 AD) |
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| Year | 11 BC - 10 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Bare laureate head of Augustus facing left, rendered in fine high relief with carefully detailed hair bound by a laurel wreath. The effigy displays the idealized Augustan portrait style characteristic of the late first century BC, with strong facial features and naturalistic hair treatment. The encircling legend is disposed around the portrait, reading AVGVSTVS to the left and DIVI F to the right. The flan shows the irregular hammered fabric typical of aurei of this period. |
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| Reverse description | Apollo standing to right, shown as a youthful figure holding a plectrum in his raised right hand and a lyre in his left hand, referencing Augustus's close dynastic association with the god following the Battle of Actium. The legend IMP XII ACT is disposed in the field around the deity, commemorating Augustus's twelfth imperatorial acclamation and his victory at Actium. The reverse type reflects the strong Augustan propaganda linking the emperor's rule with Apollo's patronage of arts and civilization. The relief is crisp and the design well-centered on the irregular hammered flan. |
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Struck at Lugdunum (modern Lyon) during Augustus's twelfth imperatorial acclamation, this aureus belongs to a tightly dated series tied to his active military and administrative presence in Gaul and Spain during the late teens BC. The Apollo type carries specific political weight for Augustus, who claimed the god as his personal divine patron following the victory at Actium in 31 BC — the battle he credited to Apollo's intervention rather than his own generalship.
RIC 192B is distinguished from the closely related 192A by a subtle reverse die variant. Lugdunum aurei of this period show lower average survival rates than contemporary Roman mint issues, likely a function of their heavier western circulation.