Guys, Here is an aureii in the name of Claudius, minted 51-52 A.D at Rome, RIC 63, 7,61 grams. It has the wreath reverse which i find very appealing. I tend to look for this motif in Sestertii, Asse, and Denarii as well. The surfaces of this particular example are a bit scruffy, but i think still appealing overall, and the portrait is nice as well. Any comments are appreciated, Regards Eduard
Ups! wrong Forum You know, i just realized that i posted this in the wrong Forum! I guess many of you are thinking what who in h... is Claudius anyway... what was i thinking. can somebody move this to Ancient and World Coins? Thanks!!
LOL - yep I would not see it in the world coin forum. Still looks real interesting. Looks like he has a extra long neck. Nice coin Eduard.
Hi Mark, yes, history has not been kind to this roman emperor, often protrayed as a bumbling, retarded fool, when in fact he really was not - he was physically disabled, and restored some order to Rome after the death of Caligula. Now Caligula he was really bad news..... You may have heard of Claudius if you ever saw the movie or read the book I- Claudius.
Hi Catbert! An Aureus is a roman gold coin. The masses usually had to make do with bronze or copper coins (called Sestertius, As, or Dupondius). Roman soldiers were paid with silver coin called Denarius. Only the nobility or high ranking army officers ever saw the gold.
Some of the most extreme (grotesque) "long neck" portraits are found on Carausian coins: CARAUSIUS - Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Carausius Usurper Augustus of Secessionist Britain: AD 287 - 293 RIC Volume V(2) No. 475 James
I am very jealous! That is a beautiful coin. Although, personally, I would have gone for a Nemesis aureus. Being struck in 51-52, it had a lower mintage than the majority of Claudius' gold issues, as only two officinae were striking gold at the time. RIC II, p. 116
Thank guys! Nemesis is certainly nice Ardatirion, but in general i prefer the Wreath motive with SPQR; or, alternatively an architectural type like Praetorian Camp or DE BRITANN. Except, i could not find one that i could afford. I still have a Claudius denarius on my wish list and hopefully i shall be able to get a De Britann in silver one day. Eduard
Well Eduard, as I am sure you well know, you are into some pricey coins when you go after any Claudius Denarius or Aureus (or Sestertius for that matter). I have been looking for a nice condition Claudius IMPER RECEPT denarius for a number of years -- very hard to come by in any grade -- the last EF one I encountered was priced at $5000! James
lets see if I can add to that. about 4 As = 1 Sestertius 4 Sestertius = 1 Denarius 25 Denarii = 1 Aureus
