Aureus - Augustus VOT P SVSC PRO SAL ET RED I O M SACR, Mars

This aureus belongs to a short-lived issue connected to Augustus's return from the East in 19 BC and the vow-fulfillment ceremonies that followed. The legend references vows made for his safe return — the VOT SVSC formula indicating vows already undertaken, not merely promised — a distinction Roman religious protocol observed carefully. These pieces were likely struck at Colonia Patricia in Spain rather than Rome, a attribution supported by die-link studies and consistent with Augustus's movement through the western provinces in this period.