AVREVS. Le Pouvoir de l’or / The Power of Gold

The book “AVREVS. Le Pouvoir de l’or / The Power of Gold” investigates the economic, political, social and cultural uses of gold coins in the western world from the 4th century BC to the 1st century AD (AD 69). It presents the proceedings of the closing conference of a research program funded by the Région Centre-Val de Loire, “AVREVS. The Birth of Roman Gold Coinage: historical study and chemical analysis of minted gold in the Western World from the end of the Hellenistic period to the first century A. D.”. The aim of the project, which was made possible by a partnership between the Centre Ernest-Babelon de l’IRAMAT (UMR 7065, CNRS-Université d’Orléans) and the Département des Monnaies, médailles et antiques de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, was to study the appearance of the Roman gold coinage, itself the culmination of a centuries-old tradition dating back to the origins of money. The book is the result of the application of innovative archaeometric methods, and contains the results of the physico-chemical analysis of nearly 1000 coins from the main western mints for gold (Africa, Greece, Italy, the Celtic world and Spain), as well as of a number of jewels from French heritage collections. It provides a better understanding of the mobilisation, control, transfer and circulation of gold stocks during the period in question, a turning point in the general history of gold coinage. By taking an interdisciplinary approach, this volume also sheds light on the issues and problems relating to gold, whether coined or not, in Western Europe at the time of the rise of the Roman Empire. Thus, it addresses the role of gold in war expenditure; the cultural and symbolic aspects of gold; the reception and aesthetic impact of gold; and lastly, its political and economic role. In short, the AVREVS volume takes a new look at the question of the progressive replacement of the various previous western gold coinages by Roman gold coins, employing a broad and global approach that has been lacking until now.