This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

Aureus minted in 193 by Septimius Severus to celebrate XIV Gemina Martia Victrix, the legion that proclaimed him emperor.

The aureus (pl. aurei — "golden") was a gold coin of ancient Rome valued at 25 silver denarii. The aureus was regularly issued from the 1st century BC to the beginning of the 4th century, when it was replaced by the solidus. The aureus is about the same size as the denarius, but is heavier due to the higher density of gold.

Before the time of Julius Caesar the aureus was struck very infrequently, usually to make large payments from captured booty. Caesar struck the coin more frequently and standardized the weight at Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \tfrac{1}{40}

of a Roman pound (about 8 grams). Augustus tariffed the value of the sestertius as 1/100 Aureus.  The mass of the aureus was decreased to Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \tfrac{1}{45}
of a pound (7.3 g) during the reign of Nero.

Aureus of Octavian, circa 30 BC.

After the reign of Marcus Aurelius the production of aurei decreased, and the weight was further decreased to Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \tfrac{1}{50}

of a pound (6.5 g) by the time of Caracalla. During the third century, gold pieces were introduced in a variety of fractions and multiples, making it hard to determine the intended denomination of a gold coin.

The solidus was first introduced by Diocletian around 301 AD, struck at 60 to the Roman pound of pure gold (and thus weighing about 5.5 g each) and with an initial value equal to 1,000 denarii. However, Diocletian's solidus was struck only in small quantities, and thus had only minimal economic effect. The solidus was reintroduced by Constantine I in 312 AD, permanently replacing the aureus as the gold coin of the Roman Empire. The solidus was struck at a rate of 72 to a Roman pound of pure gold, each coin weighing twenty-four Greco-Roman carats, or about 4.5 grams of gold per coin. By this time, the solidus was worth 275,000 increasingly debased denarii.

However, regardless of the size or weight of the aureus, the coin's purity was little affected. Analysis of the Roman aureus shows the purity level usually to have been near to 24 carat gold in excess of 99%, 23 carat of 95.83% gold English Sovereign (1489–1604), 91.7% of 22 carat gold for the British Sovereign (1817–1917, 1925, 1957–present) and American Eagle (1795–1933), and 21.6 carat of 90% gold for the United States Gold Dollar (1849–1889).

Due to runaway inflation caused by the Roman government issuing base-metal coinage but refusing to accept anything other than silver or gold for tax payments, the value of the gold aureus in relation to denarii grew drastically. Inflation was also affected by the systematic debasement of the silver denarius which by the mid-third century had practically no silver left in it.

In 301 AD one gold aureus was worth 833⅓ denarii; by 324 AD the same aureus was worth 4,350 denarii. In 337 AD, after Constantine converted to the solidus, one solidus was worth 275,000 denarii and finally, by 356 AD, one solidus was worth 4,600,000 denarii.

Constantine introduced the solidus in 309, replacing the aureus as the standard gold coin of the Roman Empire. The solidus was a larger diameter and flatter coin, while the aureus was smaller, thicker and similar to the denarius in fabric. Today, the aureus is highly sought after by collectors because of its purity and value, as well its historical interest. An aureus is usually much more expensive than a denarius issued by the same emperor. For instance, in one auction, an aureus of Trajan sold for $15,000, and a silver coin of the same emperor sold for $100. Two of the most expensive aurei were sold in the same auction in 2008. One aureus, issued in 42 BC by Marcus Junius Brutus, the assassin of Gaius Julius Caesar, had a price realized of $661,250.^[1] (There is an example of this coin on permanent display at the British Museum in London.) The second aureus, issued by the emperor Alexander Severus, has a picture of the Colosseum on the reverse, and had a price realized of $920,000.^[2]

See also[link]

Numismatics portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aureus

• Roman currency
• Guilder
• Polish złoty
• Solidus (coin)

References[link]

1. ^ http://images.goldbergauctions.com/php/chap_auc.php?site=1&lang=1&sale=46&chapter=2&page=1
2. ^ http://images.goldbergauctions.com/php/chap_auc.php?site=1&lang=1&sale=46&chapter=2&page=2

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Roman currency

• Online numismatic exhibit: "This round gold is but the image of the rounder globe" (H.Melville). The charm of gold in ancient coinage

Sergej Cetkovic

Sergej Ćetković (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Сергеј Ћетковић, pronounced [sěrɡeːj tɕêtkoʋitɕ]) is a popular Montenegrin singer in former Yugoslavia.

Biography[link]

Sergej Ćetković was born in Titograd, Yugoslavia on 8 March 1976.

He made his first contact with music when he was only seven years old. His first appearance was as a member of the youngest Montenegrin group at that time called Vatrena srca (Passionate hearts). He played piano and sang vocals. It was then when he felt the need to become a part of the professional musical life. He started his career as a singer in 1998 at the well known festival called Sunčane skale with the song Bila si ruža (You were a rose). Two years after his solo debut, he published his first CD called Kristina in December 2000. The CD was big success and young publishing company Goraton bought the copyrights from Pogorica's Hi-Fi centre and reprinted the CD with new label and started to sell it in all territories of former Yugoslavia.

Exactly two years after his first CD, he published his second CD called Budi mi voda (Be my water) in December 2002 with 12 new songs with the company Goraton. In 2003 he participated at Budva's festival (Budvanski festival) with the song Postojim i ja which won the best arrangement award. In 2005, Goraton published his The Best Of compilation.

After this, Sergej presented to the media his third CD called Kad ti zatreba with 10 new songs. The most popular song from this last album is called Pogledi u tami.

In year 2007, he had an extremely successful tour throughout Serbia and Montenegro, which was completely sold out, and for every town, additional evenings had to be scheduled. Such success was unexpected by, perhaps, everyone. The biggest hit of the tour was the song Pogledi u tami.

Discography[link]

• Kristina (2000)
• Budi mi voda (2003)
• Kad ti zatreba (2005)
• Pola moga svijeta (2007)
• 2 minuta (2010)

Compilations[link]

• The best of (2005)
• Sergej Live (2006)

External links[link]

• Official Website

This Montenegrin biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This article about a European singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e