Star Trek - Identify Roman Augustus coin which appeared on television program

I run a "Coins in Movies" and "Coins on Television" website and sometimes receive emails with questions.

A man wrote to me recently with an interesting question:

I am searching for a movie or a TV series episode that I saw many years ago (more than 20 if I can calculate correctly) and shows a guy (captain of a space-ship?) sitting behind a desk and playing in his hands with a cistophoric tetradrachm of Augustus.

I've attached a picture of a similar coin in my email.


Attached picture

I do remember an original Captain Kirk Star Trek episode set in a Roman Empire.

Can anyone help him find his program?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

The most likely episode would be the one called "Bread and Circuses" which occurs on a planet where the Roman Empire never fell and still exists, now with 20th century tech. No clue if there is a coin in it, though

 

I do not believe it was an episode of Star Trek I believe it was from the film "Screamers" Near the beginning the actor Peter Weller is holding a cistophoric tetradrachm of Augustus. I tried to find an image of Weller holding the coin This is as close as I could get.

I do remember the second smaller picture in the film, however i cannot say much about the first larger pic. I generally do not like horror films. If I need to get scared I watch the news.

 

Thank you for the information.

Someone else sent me a closer look at the photograph from the film.



I sent the "Screamers" information to the man who wrote to me.

 

I received this email this morning:

You don't know the amount of joy and relief that you gave me today!
Do you know the feeling when you cannot remember something that you should remember?
Like an itch that you can't scratch? I have that for at least a couple of years now.
Thank you so much!

 

It would make sense that Peter Weller held an ancient coin in a movie as he was an avid ancient coin collector. It was probably his own coin.

Barry Murphy

 

This story gets more interesting.

Peter Weller, the star of "Screamers", has a Ph.D. degree from UCLA in Italian Art History. He is a collector of ancient coins and once owned a Roman Eid Mar denarius.

 

..wow man far out!....the episode of Star Trek featuring Romans was Season 2 episode 25, "Bread & Circus's"..but i believe Terrence has solved that riddle