If you could have any Ancient coin what would you pick?

Assuming that the people actually existed, and the story happened as told in the Gospels, I would choose to own one of the coins that Judas was paid to betray Jesus (the best condition one of the bunch of course!)

I can't say that I'm crazy about the impact that religion has on people and the world in general. However, considering the role that Christianity has played in shaping Western Culture over the last 2000 years, it would be hard to come up with a coin that had more historical significance. If Judas wouldn't have taken that money, who knows what the world would be today!

 

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That’s definitely on my list as well.

Although I’ll probably never own one.

But I’m definitely going to pick up a Julius Caesar denarius one day.

 

According to historians it would most likely be an Antiochan tetradrachm with Tiberius on the obverse and Augustus on the reverse.

Although I think a lot of the stories in the Bible are intended to be metaphors.

It’s interesting how often coins are mentioned in the Bible.

Like when some people try to trick Jesus by asking if his followers should pay taxes or not:

“Jesus first called them hypocrites, and then asked one of them to produce a Roman coin that would be suitable for paying Caesar's tax. One of them showed him a Roman coin, and he asked them whose head and inscription were on it. They answered, "Caesar's," and he responded: "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's".”

 

Fantasising a bit here, I would love to have an example of this unique Vespasian denarius in the BM. I've been aware of its existence since childhood (it was illustrated in my Penguin edition of Suetonius given to me on my 13th birthday).

 

Ya, another instance, the "Mark of the Beast" in Revelations is making reference to the image of Nero on coins. The numeric equivalents of the Hebrew letters used to spell "Nero Caesar" add up to 666.

Come to think about it, I still need one of the Beasts coins for my collection!

 

I would pick an Athenian Dekadrachm. In particular the Kunstfreund/Bunker Hunt coin. It's the coin that got me excited about ancient Greek coins when I was a kid.

Though I would settle for a Clazomenae Tetradrachm signed by Theodotos. Like the one in the British Museum.....I'm not fussy.

 

I'd say this medallion of Faustina Jr in the British Museum showing Venus Genetrix and six cupids up to all sorts of mayhem.

 

That would do.

 

Can it be 30 pieces of silver?

 

If literally *any* coin, it would be a toss up:

1) The Eucratides 20-stater would look mighty fine on my desk


2) Of course the Eid Mar aureus; previously it was speculated that the gold versions of the type may have been minted as presentation pieces to the actual assassins of Caesar


3) Or since I've been on a sestertius kick lately, how about the Hadrian sestertius believed to have been personally commissioned by Hadrian himself from Antoninianus of Aphrodisias

 

I'd settle for a tetradrachm of Katane with the facing head of Apollo by Herakleidas.
The Kimon tetradrachm of Syracuse used to be my favourite until I actually saw both in the flesh and this was superior.

Picture stolen from Kunker of this wonderful specimen, later sold by CNG:



Interestingly, this went for €200K + fees in 2015 and for $225K + fees in 2019, so I may be able to trade my entire collection for it next time

ATB,
Aidan.

 

The 20 stater piece of Eukratides. That Alexander piece also is nice at 700,000 Swiss francs.

 

I would choose either this one or a silver Eide Mar. Two of the most historically important ancients in my mind.

 

I would definitely go with a Titus/Colosseum sestertius…this beauty sold a few years ago for around $460k.

 

Perhaps I would like a Noah from Apameia by Septimius Severus. I'd rather have one with smooth surfaces and a clear Noah on the box but the holes don't bother me.
https://www.acsearch.info/search.ht...de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1&currency=usd&order=0

 

I’m actually surprised the Romans didn’t put the Colliseum on more of their coinage.

It would’ve looked beautiful on a gold aureus.

 

You're in luck: it does. This is the coin I'd choose (one of two known), although it's impounded in a collection where it's very unlikely to ever see the light of day again:

 

Every time I look at one of those Colosseum coins, it reminds me that the Science of Perspective wasn't developed until the Renaissance

 

Well in all fairness the Renaissance was simply the re-discovery of Ancient Greek & Roman texts and ideas that had been lost in the Middle Ages when people were mostly focused on religious texts.

In fact The poet Beccadeli sold a country home for funding to purchase one manuscript of Livy’s “Ab Urbe Condita Libra” copied by Poggio.

“The intellectual basis of the Renaissance was its version of humanism, derived from the concept of Roman humanitas and the rediscovery of classical Greek philosophy, such as that of Protagoras, who said that "man is the measure of all things". This new thinking became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science and literature. Early examples were the development of perspective in oil painting and the revived knowledge of how to make concrete. ”