Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 125 23-24 Jun 2021
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Ex Nomos sale 4, 2011, BCD, 1401..
Denarius 46-47, AR 3.62 g. TI CLAVD CAESAR AVG P M TR P VI IMP XI Laureate bust r. Rev. DE BRITANN on architrave of triumphal arch surmounted by equestrian statue between two trophies. C 18. BMC 35. RIC 34. CBN 57.
Rare. Light iridescent tone and about extremely fine
The reverse of this denarius depicts a triumphal arch celebrating the successful invasion and conquest of Britannia by Claudius' renowned senatorial general Aulus Plautius. Although the invasion of Britain had taken place in AD 43, the arch was not yet constructed when this coin was struck in AD 46-47. The arch was not actually constructed from new materials, but converted from an arch of the Aqua Virgo, an aqueduct crossing the Via Flaminia in Rome. While it is clear that the arch on the coin was intended to advertise what the real arch would look like, one wonders whether it was originally intended to be a new arch, but for uncertain reasons (cost cutting measures?) it was decided to convert the aqueduct arch instead. The inscription on the entablature of the arch on the coin clearly indicates that the arch was supposed to have been financed by British plunder. In AD 43, between two and four legions were assembled by Aulus Plautius at the English Channel and ferried from Gaul to Britain on the pretext that they had come to restore Verica, an exiled client king of the Atrobates, to power. Possibly landing on the coast of what is now Kent, the Roman forces marched inland against the British Celts who attempted to present a unified opposition under the leadership of the Catuvellauni kings Togodumnus and Caratacus. The legions defeated the Celts at the rivers Medway and Thames and with the death of Togodumnus at the Thames, Plautius called for Claudius to join him. After a campaign of 16 days, which involved additional forces from the Praetorian cohorts as well as war elephants(!) and saw the surrender of some 11 British kings, a Roman capital was established at Camulodunum (Camelot) and Claudius declared victory. The emperor returned to Rome to celebrate while the Roman army continued to wage a war of conquest against the British Celts. Claudius had added a new western province to the empire, but it was destined to be an expensive one that was never completely pacified and frequently subject to native rebellion, military mutiny, and attack from the unconquered peoples of the north.
Denarius 46-47, AR 3.62 g. TI CLAVD CAESAR AVG P M TR P VI IMP XI Laureate bust r. Rev. DE BRITANN on architrave of triumphal arch surmounted by equestrian statue between two trophies. C 18. BMC 35. RIC 34. CBN 57.
Rare. Light iridescent tone and about extremely fine
The reverse of this denarius depicts a triumphal arch celebrating the successful invasion and conquest of Britannia by Claudius' renowned senatorial general Aulus Plautius. Although the invasion of Britain had taken place in AD 43, the arch was not yet constructed when this coin was struck in AD 46-47. The arch was not actually constructed from new materials, but converted from an arch of the Aqua Virgo, an aqueduct crossing the Via Flaminia in Rome. While it is clear that the arch on the coin was intended to advertise what the real arch would look like, one wonders whether it was originally intended to be a new arch, but for uncertain reasons (cost cutting measures?) it was decided to convert the aqueduct arch instead. The inscription on the entablature of the arch on the coin clearly indicates that the arch was supposed to have been financed by British plunder. In AD 43, between two and four legions were assembled by Aulus Plautius at the English Channel and ferried from Gaul to Britain on the pretext that they had come to restore Verica, an exiled client king of the Atrobates, to power. Possibly landing on the coast of what is now Kent, the Roman forces marched inland against the British Celts who attempted to present a unified opposition under the leadership of the Catuvellauni kings Togodumnus and Caratacus. The legions defeated the Celts at the rivers Medway and Thames and with the death of Togodumnus at the Thames, Plautius called for Claudius to join him. After a campaign of 16 days, which involved additional forces from the Praetorian cohorts as well as war elephants(!) and saw the surrender of some 11 British kings, a Roman capital was established at Camulodunum (Camelot) and Claudius declared victory. The emperor returned to Rome to celebrate while the Roman army continued to wage a war of conquest against the British Celts. Claudius had added a new western province to the empire, but it was destined to be an expensive one that was never completely pacified and frequently subject to native rebellion, military mutiny, and attack from the unconquered peoples of the north.