Anything gold, Augustus and authentic is money. That's a beauty (if authentic - this kind of coin is far outside my personal experience).
Like @Marsyas Mike says, if authentic, its worth a lot of money. How much, I have no idea since I cannot find an example for sale on Vcoins or any sold on CNG. I let my membership with acsearch laps, so I cannot look up prices realized. But I did find this one: https://www.acsearch.info/media/images/archive/50/2272/2309616.m.jpg The description: Augustus (27 BC-AD 14). AV aureus (20mm, 7.95 gm, 2h). Spain, Colonia Patricia, ca. 25-22 BC. No legend, bare head of Augustus right / Capricorn flying right, holding globe over rudder; above, cornucopiae. Below, AVGVSTVS. RIC 125. Cohen 20. BMCRE 62 note *. Calicó 164 (S3). Well centered on a broad flan. NGC Choice VF 5/5 - 3/5. From the Lexington Collection of Jonathan K. Kern. Gaius Octavius, later known as Augustus, was born the morning of September 23, 63 BC, under the sign of Capricorn. Later in life, he placed great stress on his natal sign, placing it on his coins in both gold and silver. Three reasons suggest themselves as to why Augustus took this course: (1) Capricorn was associated with stern moral authority; (2) Capricorn is the sign through which the sun passes at winter solstice and is, in a sense, reborn, like the Roman state in Augustus' propaganda; (3) Capricorn, then as now, was associated with the planet and god Saturn. According to Roman mythology, Saturn had come to live in Italy when his son Jupiter had kicked him out of heaven, and the age in which Saturn ruled as king over Italy was a "golden age" of paradise on earth. Virgil took up this theme in his treatment of Augustus' reign as a return of the Saturnian age.
If you want further information on your coin, including speculation on its authenticity, you need to supply the following: 1. Weight in grams, to 1/10th of a gram (e.g., 8.2 gr.) 2. Diameter in mm (approximate since coin isn't perfectly round) 3. DETAILED information on how the coin came into your possession (e.g., something more detailed than "I bought it from a street vendor in Malibu, CA" or "My grandfather left it to me when he died") Of the above, #3 is the most important.
The Augustus legend is different from yours which is good. If you live int he States you would be advised to send it to David Sear for authentication. If you got it from eBay it is unlikely to be real. If you can give us the weight, that might also throw some light on it. http://forgerynetwork.com/asset.aspx?id=SyEmc5uPxZo=
An OP with a rare gold aureus he doesn't know anything about. I'll just go ahead and call it...fake. I mean, what are the odds? Unless OP had a wealthy uncle who collected coins and left this coin to him, what are the odds OP ends up with a genuine rare aureus he doesn't know squat about.
Well, you could have said you found it metal detecting from the start....you do understand the average newbie doesn't just have a super rare and expensive coin that they know absolutely nothing about. That almost never happens. In 98,% of cases that turns out to be a forgery. I still think the portrait looks funny, but I don't know enough about these to tell if real or fake. Just because you found it metal detecting doesn't mean it's real. Send it to NGC Ancients or to another expert.
Looking back now yes i should of explained better , im just after advice so thats why i joined and posted it up
The thing is, a rare coin like that probably had few dies employed in the minting process as they weren't minted anywhere near the level of a denarius or sestertius. Some of these coins only have 10 or 12 known pairs of dies. So I bet you someone like David Sear could look at your coin and know right away if it is or isn't good. Spend the $50 or $60 and send it in. And if it does turn our to be real, you can probably sell it and buy yourself a whole collection of Roman and Greek coins (probably 100+ bronze and silver beauties) for the price you'll get from this coin.
You do know about the PAS I hope? I am not sure who would be the best person in the UK to authenticate it. The BM doesn't do that any more. Possibly give the Ashmolean a ring.
