aureus
ancient Roman money
Also known as: denarius aureus, nummus aureus
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Aureus featuring a portrait of Septimius Severus.
CNG coins (http://www.cngcoins.com)
aureus, basic gold monetary unit of ancient Rome and the Roman world. It was first named nummus aureus (“gold money”), or denarius aureus, and was equal to 25 silver denarii; a denarius equaled 10 bronze asses. (In 89 bc, the sestertius, equal to one-quarter of a denarius, replaced the bronze ass as a unit of account.) In Constantine’s reform of ad 312, the aureus was replaced by the solidus as the basic monetary unit.