Reproduction Aureus of Augustus - Heifer

Obverse: Bare head of Augustus right. Text behind head CAESAR.

Reverse: Heifer, with head lowered, advancing left. Text above AVGVSTVS.

History: This aureus depicts the new classical Apollo-like portrait of Augustus on one side and an image of a heifer based on a long-lost masterpiece by a Greek sculptor on its reverse. The coin celebrates the power of the man who founded the Roman Empire and laid the foundations of a regime that lasted for centuries.

Only 22 examples of the heifer-reverse aureus minted during the reign of Augustus are known to have survived. They are sub-divided into five types which vary according to whether Augustus is depicted with a bare head or a laureate head and which way the emperor and the heifer are facing.

The exact date of the coin and where it was minted remain unknown, but it is believed to have been struck c27-18BC. In 27BC Octavian, as he was then called, the great nephew of Julius Caesar, founded the Principate, the first phase of the Roman Empire. He took the name of Augustus, meaning ‘stately’ or ‘dignified’ and began to stamp his authority on Rome and its territories.

Date: Circa 27-18BC

Diameter: 2cm