"Incredibly rare" coin of Laelianus found at dig, says the BBC (their quote) https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-48314102 I think that's a little bit o' overreach for a $100 coin but I suppose we should be grateful when any ancient coin makes the headlines.
"Archaeologist Steve Sherlock said the "significant' find was only the second of its kind to be unearthed in England." Is he trying to say there have only been 2 Laelianus coins found in Britain? This is not true at all, a simple search of the PAS database shows much more than 2.
I didn't think were that rare. Rare, yes but hardly unique. It's not like the Rosetta Stone was found.
I wonder if they're somehow confusing this with Domitian II. On the other hand, the quote below doesn't sound like something a Roman coin expert would say. This is a mess either way. "Coin expert Julian Bowsher, of MOLA Headland Infrastructure, said: "Roman emperors were very keen to mint coins - Laelianus reigned for just two months which is barely enough time to do so."
It looks like the standard VICTORIA AVG reverse that is on most of Laelianus's antoniniani, a search of the PAS database yields 4 of that type being reported.
Thanks for the info I love stuff like this. Maybe I should start digging in my backyard. Not many Roman coins have been found in the dirt in America.
