Gold coin of Frederick II

In 1231, Frederick II introduced a new gold coin, the augustalis. The first high value and stable gold coinage in Europe since Roman times, it would be 200 years before anything of its quality or elegance appeared again. Both a powerful propaganda device and a sign of Frederick’s desire to re-found the Roman Empire, the augustalis clearly imitates the gold coinage of the emperor Augustus. On one side Frederick II is shown in a classical-style bust, the other side shows the Roman imperial eagle.