Read this last week but this is a updated article with pics. https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2016/07/gold-coins-discovered-at-german-site.html Older Article: http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/43089
Thanks @Mat , I saw a news blurb last night, but this one is a little better showing the gold. Well, I have a Denarius with Gauis and Lucius, now I need to get the Aurei... Maybe I will have to swoop in before @panzerman ... Roman Imperial Augustus AR Denarius 27BCE-14CE Lugdunum mint, before 4 BCE Gaius-Lucius Sear 1578
I have never understood traditional dating of these (2 BC to 4 AD). We are to believe that the type was continued until Caius died in 4 AD while Lucius died in 2? Certainly there were a lot of them made for so short a period whether 4 or 6 years so finding a group buried in 9 AD makes sense but I missed the evidence linking these few coins to one specific historical battle as opposed to a cache buried sometimes before that event or by the victors years later. In any event it would be quite a find.
I read about that recently. They (the mint), had supposedly stopped minting them in 4 CE when Gaius died. I was kinda surprised also, that they had not stopped minting them when Lucius died in 2CE. Perhaps, after 4 CE, when there were no more heirs, Livia had them stopped , just so there was no confusion when she was pushing Tiberius to be heir... I just do not know.
That makes sense. From a political sense, the type was to illustrate that the matter of succession was under control and there was no reason to bother folks with minor details. I'm sure relatively few people knew of Lucius' death. Promoting Tiberius would certainly be a reason and Livia would be most likely to be on top of the matter.
Adrian Murdoch wrote a really great book about the battle - Rome's Greatest Defeat: Massacre In The Teutoburg Forest. Arguably one of the best on the subject. And this recently from his blog: http://adrianmurdoch.typepad.com/my_weblog/2016/07/give-me-back-my-legions.html
Just finished reading up on the battle of the Teutoburg Forest.........you ancient guys inspire me to educate and re-educate myself in matters of history.
It wasn't so much a battle as it was a massacre. The Romans, in single file formation with weapons soaked with rain and tucked away, and the complete element of surprise from the Germanic warriors, didn't stand a chance. I doubt most Romans even had a chance to strike a single blow against the enemy before they were overrun and hacked to pieces.
They recently covered Arminius, Verus, and the Battle of the Teutoberg Forest in Barbarians Rising. It was one of my favorite segments of the series.
Great article. Thank you. The article proves again the great (but frequently unappreciated) contributions numismatics have made in understanding history, especially ancient history.