Posted on 02/25/2007 6:07:08 PM PST by blam
Find of Roman coin shows ancient Britons in a new light
By Daily Telegraph Reporter
Last Updated: 1:34am GMT 26/02/2007
Experts are excited about a rare coin unearthed by an amateur treasure hunter which could change the accepted ancient history of Britain.
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.
Cornwall had trade significance because of the tin and copper it produced, but that economic activity is not well documented before the third century AD.
Coins were relatively rare, of high value and often stayed in circulation for more than 100 years — which makes dating the find harder.
Sam Moorhead, Finds Adviser of Iron Age and Roman coins at the British Museum, said: "It may have been the wages of a Roman legionnaire, who earned about 300 denarii a year in the Roman imperial period — after the conquest.
"You could probably have got about eight loaves of bread for a coin like this, or eight litres of wine.
"Vineyard labourers would have earned between a half and one denarius a day. Whereas to be a senator you had to have at least 250,000 denarii in the bank."
The silver coin was minted in Rome and carries the likeness of Roma wearing a winged helmet, plus the name of a Caius Antestius, its maker.
"Roma is a personification of Rome, rather like Britannia is a personification of Britain," Mr Moorhead explained.
The reverse of the coin carries a picture on horseback of the mythological twins Castor and Pollux, who were believed to have helped the Romans in battle.
FYI.
It proves that one coin made it to the island.
Could have been from a Roman who was a coin collector.In which case the dating had better come from something other than the coin!
Very cool!
Are there pics?
If the coin is stamped 146 B.C., it's probably a fake.
Not yet. They'll probably turn up tomorrow on the archaeological sites.
The Pheonicians were trading in Cornwall centuries before the Romans. What's the big deal?
Recon.
It shows nothing of the sort. It only shows that Roman coins had made it to Briton. Coins are coins, a medium of exchange. Somebody who traded with Romans, in turn traded with somebody, and the end of the chain winds up in Briton
Or recon for Marklar.
Not so shocking.
Caesar says the Gauls had ships with no oars that dwarfed their triremes.
Dating from 146 BC, it shows how ancient Britons were trading with the Romans well before the country was conquered in AD 43... Cornwall had trade significance because of the tin and copper it produced, but that economic activity is not well documented before the third century AD. Coins were relatively rare, of high value and often stayed in circulation for more than 100 years — which makes dating the find harder.To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.
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The date is from the name of the official (monetal or moneyer) C. Antestius. T.R.S. Broughton's Magistrates of the Roman Republic puts him between 137 and 134 B.C., but that work was published in 1952, and perhaps new information has come out since then to show that he was actually in office in 146 B.C.
It further shows that Rome used diplomacy and made deals with foreign leaders whenever possible. Propaganda and diplomacy have been emphasized in Latin culture throughout recorded history. Recent UK columns are a more contemporary example of the same.
***If the coin is stamped 146 B.C., it's probably a fake. ***
It's legit if it's BCE.;-)
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The Romans in Ireland
Archaeology Today | 2000? | L.A. Curchin
Posted on 07/18/2004 11:54:58 PM EDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1173950/posts
It may prove that Romans from a later period carried old coins.
Duh!
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