Hi people! It's just me, or does anyone else think this Britannicus portrait AE from Aegae very similar to the Brutus portrait on EID-MAR denarius?? This is an exaggerated consuption of bacon? My coin: AEOLIS, Aegae. Britannicus, son of Claudius and Messalina. Circa 43-55 AD. BΡITANNIKOC KAICAΡ, bare head right / AIΓAEΩN EΠI XAΛE-OY, Zeus standing left holding eagle and sceptre. Chaleos, magistrate. RPC I 2431; SNG Copenhagen -. Other coin: THE COIN. Really, of course, there are at least 84 years separating these two coins, but I wonder if Brutus' portrait could not have been used as a model for the creation of Britannicus portrait of this coin. Eid-Mar denarius was struck by a military travelling atelier in Macedonia, while the Britannicus coin was struck in Aegae, Greece, in a region in the Peloponnese. Could the celator used a Brutus' denarius to create an imaginary bust of Britannicus? In ancient Numismatics, it's notorious the inspiration of some mintmasters in some older ancient coins to create new one, using copies of olds.
Possibly, but the odds of the die sinker in Aeolis having access to an Eid Mar is pretty slim. Being struck right before he was defeated, the Eid Mar was not a large issue, so rare even in ancient times. More likely its just coincidence. Thin 35 year old Romans with a beard probably didn't have a large variation of appearances, and Britannicus could have looked a little like Brutus in real life. Still a neat comparison. I see the same at times, seeing what looks like a Cleopatra VII portrait but it being a Roman lady from 100 years later.
Thanks guys by your contributions! @medoraman , you're quite right about your observations. It's really common to see some romans in coins with similar portraits, except for those better known, even more considering provincial coinage. Proveremo tutte le possibilità, @RAGNAROK !!
