Crossword clues for aureus
aureus
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Wiktionary
n. A gold coin, minted in the Rome from approximately 100 (B.C.) to 309 (A.D.), equal to 25 denarius.
Wikipedia
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 AD, when it was replaced by the solidus. The aureus was about the same size as the denarius, but heavier due to the higher density of gold (as opposed to that of silver.)
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 $\tfrac{1}{40}$ of a Roman pound (about 8 grams). Augustus (r. 29 BC – 9 AD) tariffed the value of the sestertius as $\tfrac{1}{100}$ of an aureus. The mass of the aureus was decreased to $\tfrac{1}{45}$ of a pound (7.3 g) during the reign of Nero (r. 54–68).
After the reign of Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) the production of aurei decreased, and the weight was further decreased to $\tfrac{1}{50}$ of a pound (6.5 g) by the time of Caracalla (r. 211–217). During the 3rd 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 (r. 284–305) 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 (r. 306–337) 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 of the 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%.
Gold content and price comparison|Name
|Gold Content
Julius Caesar Aureus
Julius Caesar Aureus
8.18 grams
1.000
Nero Aureus
7.27 grams
0.889
Caracalla Aureus
6.55 grams
0.800
Diocletian Aureus
5.45 grams
0.667
Constantine Solidus
4.55 grams
0.556
British Sovereign
7.32 grams
0.895
USA Eagle 1837-1933
15.05 grams
1.839
USA Gold Dollar 1849-1889
1.51 grams
0.184
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 the denarius grew drastically. Inflation was also affected by the systematic debasement of the silver denarius, which by the mid-3rd century had practically no silver left in it.
In 301, one gold aureus was worth 833⅓ denarii; by 324, the same aureus was worth 4,350 denarii. In 337, after Constantine converted to the solidus, one solidus was worth 275,000 denarii and finally, by 356, one solidus was worth 4,600,000 denarii.
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 (r. 98–117) 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. (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 (r. 222–235), has a picture of the Colosseum on the reverse, and had a price realized of $920,000.
Aureus, golden in Latin, may refer to :
- Aureus, a gold coin of ancient Rome valued at 25 silver denarii
- Vitulus Aureus (the golden calf), a book by Dutch alchemist Johann Friedrich Schweitze
Usage examples of "aureus".
Then he handed an aureus to the priestess, and pulled the end of his toga up to cover his head as we entered the sanctuary, lit by arched windows high in the tower.
Soon one of these new strains, called Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, began to show up in hospitals.
They take my aureus pieces without a qualm, but she worsens every time I see her!
A virulent strain of staphylococcus aureus has incorporated endozine-resistant plasmids from enterococcus.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was among the worst bugs Gilbert could have acquired.
Patou joined the Willowbrook, there had been an outbreak of Staphylococcus aureus on the neonatal ward in which four infants had been infected, one fatally.
At the same time, the ability to keep open wounds free of infection by common but potentially lethal bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus had turned surgery from a last-ditch option to a central pillar of medicine.
Fearing the formation of an abscess somewhere inside the missile track, Ford took a sample of the exudate drained from the entry wound and was able to identify a gram-positive coccus, which the lab later narrowed down to Staphylococcus aureus through fluorescent antibody staining and a blood plasma coagulation test.
They take my aureus pieces without a qualm, but she worsens every time I see her!
It's passing genetic material to other bacteria, to pathogensStaphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium botulinumbugs that can kill if the body doesn't get help.
Senecio aureus, Golden Groundsel, an American species, native of Virginia and Canada, is considered a most useful plant, deserving of attention.
This was all somehow related to everyday group A beta-hemolytic streptococci and Staphylococcus aureus, which Hammer could not comprehend beyond figuring out that the microscopic bastards were eating her husband alive.