Way Ancienter Than Usual Roman Coin Found in England

[livius drusus]

From 146 BC! (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/26/ncoin26.xml)

The silver denarius which dates back to the Roman Republic — before Julius Caesar made Rome an empire — was unearthed near Fowey in Cornwall.

Dating from 146 BC, it shows how ancient Britons were trading with the Romans well before the country was conquered in AD 43.

"It proves that there was a lot more going on between the continent and ourselves," said Anna Tyacke, Finds Liaison Officer at the Royal Cornwall Museum.

[Dingfod]

That would be like finding U.S. dollars in Iraq.

[livius drusus]

If you mean a Flowing Hair silver dollar, then sure. Otherwise, not even the same thing.

[Dingfod]

Yeah, that's what I mean, I think, maybe.

[godfry n. glad]

Pffft....

So what?

Cornwall was a center of the tin trade for the Mediterranean. Anybody looking for a good alloy to make bronze probably made it to Cornwall, even in the second century BCE. I would think that silver coin would have been an excellent means of exchange.

Also, it could have come there from some hoard of denarii which had been "liberated" some hundreds of years later. The coasts of Cornwall have been home to pirates, looters, scavengers and salvagers for probably as long as maritime trade has.

[Doctor X]

Or some Italian tourist could have dropped it.








What?

--J.D.

[livius drusus]

Well, sure, any of those scenarios are plausible (especially the Eyetalian tourist one). It obviously got there somehow.

It's not a "so what" find, however, because it's the first of its kind. People have been stumbling on Roman coins in Britain for centuries, and so far they've all been imperial. Finding one minted 200 years before then is worth a "cool" at least.

[Doctor X]

Cool!

--J.D.

[livius drusus]

Exactly! :chestram:

[godfry n. glad]

Okay..."cool".

Still, it's not far-fetched at all. And, it's not surprising that such coin is relatively rare compared to imperial coins, considering that the imperial realm included Britain.

I'm now wondering if they've found any Phoenician, Greek or Egyptian coins dating to prior to even the Roman Republic.

[livius drusus]

Yay! I got a "cool"!1 :woohoo:

[Dragar]

That's pretty cool.

Though kinda uncool to realise that reading multiple Asterix comics is never going to have given me a solid grounding in ancient history. :(

[Clutch Munny]

Come on, Dragar. I'm sure the coin was part of a large cauldron full of sesterti, found near some abandoned menhirs and a pile of roasted boar bones.

[Dragar]

:yup:

[livius drusus]

I bet they'll find magic potion residue all over that coin.

[godfry n. glad]

http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/7/0/asterixinbritain.jpg

Scripture!

[livius drusus]

By Goscinny and Toutatis!
:obelix:

By Uderzo and Belisama!
:asterix:

[squian]

Romans in Britain are definitely cool! Just like a book I'm reading, Emperor by Stephen Baxter. Characterized as "an alternate history epic," it is a fun read if you can get past the somewhat goofy Prophesy at the center of the plot.

On the other hand, British in Rome are even more fun. Rome has got to be the best thing on TV these days.

How much is that coin worth anyway?

[godfry n. glad]

Roman tourists and merchants in Britain is fine, as long as they don't decide to stay and tell everybody what to do and when.

Yeah... I liked the Celts in Rome. Sacking and drinking. Pillaging and drinking. Burning and drinking. Them was the good ol' days.

[Watser?]

Yeah... I liked the Celts in Rome. Sacking and drinking. Pillaging and drinking. Burning and drinking. Them was the good ol' days.

Not to mention the naked berserking :D

[Leesifer]

Come on, Dragar. I'm sure the coin was part of a large cauldron full of sesterti, found near some abandoned menhirs and a pile of roasted boar bones.

Not forgetting cups and saucers from the tea breaks.

[livius drusus]

Hot water, actually. With just a spot of milk. :tea:

[Leesifer]

:giggle: You're right!

[California Tanker]

You think the bit in Asterix in Britain where the troops stop fighting for a spot of hot water is a joke, I can speak from experience that it's true.

"We shall attack only at 5pm on weekdays, and all day on weekends!"
"The cads!"

NTM

[godfry n. glad]

:giggle: You're right!

I suppose it's possible the Cornish miners might have stopped to color their hot water with that strange herbal drug from far Seres, but it's unlikely.

I'll bet they were making, and slaking their thirsts with, scrumpy, though.

[Leesifer]

This forum is crazy
:obelix:

[SharonDee]

The silver denarius which dates back to the Roman Republic — before Julius Caesar made Rome an empire — was unearthed near Fowey in Cornwall.Julius Caesar made Rome an empire? :?

[Shelli]

My first step onto this thread today. Regardless of how it got there, it's a pretty cool find, IMO. :joecool2:

[godfry n. glad]

The silver denarius which dates back to the Roman Republic — before Julius Caesar made Rome an empire — was unearthed near Fowey in Cornwall.Julius Caesar made Rome an empire? :?

I was under the impression that it was Julius Caesar's nephew cum adoptive son, Octavius, after two triumvirates and the defeat of Antony at Actium, who established the empire. At that point, Octavian then became Augustus.

Of course, uncle Julius was responsible for the conquest of Gaul and the invasion of Britain.

[livius drusus]

Romans in Britain are definitely cool! Just like a book I'm reading, Emperor by Stephen Baxter. Characterized as "an alternate history epic," it is a fun read if you can get past the somewhat goofy Prophesy at the center of the plot.
Lindsay Davis' first Didius Falco novel Silver Pigs (http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Pigs-Detective-Novel-Ancient/dp/0345369076/sr=8-1/qid=1172542176/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-9649628-8549768?ie=UTF8&s=books) is the only one I've read set in Roman Britain. It's great reading.
On the other hand, British in Rome are even more fun. Rome has got to be the best thing on TV these days.
Next week is going to rock, too, 'cause Atia is getting maaaaad.
How much is that coin worth anyway?
I have no idea. The minter wasn't famous so it might be worth more in historical terms than on the market.

[Ymir's blood]

Julius Caesar made Rome an empire? :?
You're fooling yourself. We're living in a dictatorship!

Julius Caesar followed Sulla's path to become dictator but there isn't anything to prove whether or not he would have likewise abdicated.

[Kyuss Apollo]

As dictator for life, it sure didn't sound like stepping down and retiring after a couple of years was part of his plans.

But this coin find IS way cool! I wrote a paper for a grad class on the urbanization in Roman Britain--as I recall there was definitely an exchange of goods between the Celts in Gaul and Britain which was increasingly facilitated by the medium of coins during the first century BC.

Now just because it was minted in 146 BC doesn't necessarily prove it was on the ground in Britain during the 2nd century, but it certainly suggests that this cross channel money economy could have roots going back that far.

Cool!!

[Ymir's blood]

As dictator for life, it sure didn't sound like stepping down and retiring after a couple of years was part of his plans.Sulla's term as dictator - while not specifically 'for life' - didn't have a time limit either. I'm not arguing that Caesar would have stepped down had he not been assassinated, I suspect not but it is impossible to know either way.

[Kyuss Apollo]

Interesting. I remember that Sulla had been made dictator retroactively, but I didn't know that Sulla was given the dictatorship with no limit on time in office. I had just assumed that either no one was foolish to mention to him to step down after the traditional 6 months or that he he just kept having the 6 month term renewed.