EID MAR

May 21, 2022 8:25 PM

In Numismatics News: Rare gold Eid Mar aureus is up for auction. "The face of an old Roman coin, scarce seen." (Nice History) -William Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost. It sold in 2020 for 4.2 million 💵. Et Tu, Brute?' Who Was the Real Brutus.
posted by clavdivs (7 comments total)

There was an article ten days ago about the eid mar coin in the Financial Times [archive], which included the most Financial Timesesque paragraph ever:

Coins such as these attract specialist – and very rich – collectors. The late Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al-Thani bid almost $20mn in one session for Greek coins from the celebrated Prospero Collection, the Pantikapaion stater among them. So passionate a connoisseur is Baron Lorne Thyssen-Bornemisza that he had a computerised vitrine built for his Roman Imperial coinage. A flick of a switch flips a coin over and realigns it (the reverses of hand-struck coins are never aligned with their obverses). 

posted by Kattullus at 1:10 AM on May 22, 2022 [5 favorites]

Are only Roman dignitaries allowed to comment on this?
posted by chavenet at 3:15 AM on May 22, 2022 [6 favorites]

Clearly it is free-for-all if Χαυανετ O Πορτογάλος can comment. I was interested in the possibility that these crazy costly coins were forgeries and how modern experts detect the difference. "Copper coins were also copied, particularly those of Clavdivs, who led the invasion of Britain in AD 43. The problem here was the virtual absence of real coins from Rome – and the recurring need for small change. These copies are very crude and appear to illustrate widespread illiteracy." RobertusBoffinus III
posted by BobTheScientist at 4:49 AM on May 22, 2022 [4 favorites]

Clavdivs, who led the invasion of Britain in AD 43

Feh! Claudius sent serious generals to do the heavy lifting and only showed up for the coup de grace months later. He stayed about a fortnight, took the surrender at Colchester, then made a leisurely journey home and took a triumph. (The generals, including future emperor Vespasian, got triumphal ornaments and statues in the forum- but no parade.)

I have read (can't recall where) that while gold and silver counterfeiting was a serious crime, the minting of bronze was not a crime at all.
posted by BWA at 7:55 AM on May 22, 2022 [4 favorites]

One of my best friends has a substantial collection of Roman coins, I would guess 50 or more. Purchased for a few hundred to a few thousand US dollars each. I was at his house (across the country) a decade ago and he spent an hour telling me about the men depicted on the coins. He's quite the Roman history buff. He has SPQR tattooed on his arm.
posted by neuron at 10:56 AM on May 22, 2022 [1 favorite]

And here I was thinking “Clavdivs” was an arcane Web 1.0 html technique.
posted by q*ben at 4:47 PM on May 22, 2022 [1 favorite]

What's up with the lazy centering of the imprint? Even if it was done with a hammer... sheesh. How about some pride in work?
posted by metametamind at 5:47 PM on May 22, 2022 [3 favorites]