Ancient British coins found in Netherlands

[guy]

 

 

A large hoard of Roman-era coins (404 gold and silver) was discovered near Utrecht in the Netherlands. The latest Roman coin of Claudius dates from AD 46-47, but the hoard also includes forty-four British gold coins from the reign of King Cunobelin (AD 9-40).   
 

 

 

Quote

In total, 72 aurei (singular: aureus), gold Roman coins dating from 19 BCE to 47 CE were found. Among them are two pristine examples that appear unused due to their lack of wear marks—suggesting they came directly from freshly minted stocks. Additionally, this collection has 288 silver denarii (singular: denarius) struck between 200 BCE and 47 BC. These include notable pieces such as those from Julius Caesar's era and one depicting Juba I, king of Numidia in present-day Algeria.

 

 

Coin of Juba I, King of Numidia (60-46 BCE) found in the hoard:

 

 

It is unclear why this unusual hoard of coins from Britain, Rome, and Africa, discovered in the fall of 2023, was buried in the Netherlands. They will be on permanent exhibit at the Rijksmuseum van Oudhaden (The Dutch National Museum of Antiquities) in Leiden, Netherlands. This collection illustrates the complex relationship between Rome and the indigenous populations of Britain.

 

Unique Hoard Of Roman-British Coins Found Near Utrecht, The Netherlands - Ancient Pages

 

Over 400 gold and silver Roman-era coins unearthed in the Netherlands depict rulers from Rome, Britain and Africa | Live Science

 

Major hoard of Roman-British coins found near Utrecht (the Netherlands) – Popular Archeology

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 12:06 AM by guy

[caesar novus]

It seems to me that Claudius is often portrayed with an odd thick lumpy neck on coins and sometimes on statues. Is this part of his medical condition?

[guy]

12 hours ago, caesar novus said:

 

It seems to me that Claudius is often portrayed with an odd thick lumpy neck on coins and sometimes on statues. Is this part of his medical condition?

 

Thank you for reading my post. Some people believe the swelling depicted in Claudius’ neck was indicative of his having a goiter.

 

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=26074.0&srsltid=AfmBOopzs5D_su_nC993MbXUWT5BQHFP7enx_Fbxdmhsbvsp4mefTjoc

 

A goiter is caused by an iodine deficiency. The thyroid requires iodine for normal function so it enlarges if there is an iodine deficiency to capture all the iodine it can. Below is a picture of someone with a goiter

 

Compare the picture above with this other coin of Claudius (from Wildwinds.com)

 

 

Of course, no one knows for sure, but it is an interesting observation.

 

Addendum: It’s interesting to see the progression of neck swelling of Nero as he grew older (and fatter). 
 

Edited Tuesday at 02:58 PM by guy

[Crispina]

What structure is depicted on the opposite side of Claudius' coin?

[guy]

1 hour ago, Crispina said:

What structure is depicted on the opposite side of Claudius' coin?

Interesting question. The reverse of that Claudius aureus has been described as a praetorian camp. Here is some information I found:

 

Quote

The inscription "IMPER RECEPT", found on some Roman coins, stands for "Imperator Receptus" and translates to "The Emperor Received". This phrase commemorates the Praetorian Guard's role in proclaiming Claudius as emperor after Caligula's assassination in 41 CE.

 

[guidoLaMoto]

Interesting question about the oddly shaped neck depicted......Goiter was still endemic in the backwoods of southern Italy at my last visit 45 y/a, caused by Iodine deficiency, but easily avoided by even occasional ingestion of seafood. One only needs to replace about 5 mg over the course of a lifetime. Fish was probably a regular component of an emperor's diet. Goiter from deficiency would be unlikely.  Goiter from hypothyroidism is a possibility, but....

A search for "images of Claudius" shows us many statues, none of which show a goiter, but all seem to show a long neck. One can speculate on how much license the sculptors took to depict the emperor in an aesthetically pleasing way....I wonder if the coins, focusing on just the head & neck, accentuating an actually long neck, give an anatomically exaggerated view of the sternocleidomastoid muscle....explaining why that swelling is positioned so far laterally/posteriorly from where a goiter would expected?

Other causes of swelling in the neck would include lymphoma, untreated often causing bulky adenopathy, with a median survival in excess of 5 yrs-- long enough to live to be poisoned later.

 

 

 

[caesar novus]

[guidoLaMoto]

Even that statue (↑↑↑) does not accurately depict the anatomy of the musculature, so maybe the artists just don't give us a good picture......OTOH, the coins displayed in chronological order in Guy's post above do seem to show a progression of the neck swelling over 18 yrs, consistent with Hashimoto's Disease (hypothyroidism) or Grave's Disease (hyperthyroidism, sometimes evolving to hypothyroidism, often associated with the bulging eyes of ocular involvement).

I'm not up on my emperors....With untreated thyroid disorders, mental & psychiatric disorders are often serious. Anything in his history to suggest that? Apparently he was bright enough to have compiled a history of the Etruscans,  unfortunately lost to posterity, and may have been among the last speakers of the Etruscan language. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrrhenika

[caesar novus]

3 hours ago, guidoLaMoto said:

With untreated thyroid disorders, mental & psychiatric disorders are often serious. Anything in his history to suggest that?

I thought you were of an age that would be exposed to the "I Claudius" tv series, endlessly and tediously depicting this over a dozen hours. Some of us felt obligated to watch what then passed as "educational tv":

You can get from that video to the playlist of all episodes. Personally, I speculate many ancient Romans probably suffered from various disfiguring parasites etc that are hardly known today.

Edited Friday at 03:41 AM by caesar novus

[guidoLaMoto]

WThat series ran in the70s. I was in my residency working 120 hrs/ wk--not much time for TV.

FWIW- the Wiki article claims Claudius suffered from weakness, particularly of the legs, and had nervous twitches of the head-- consistent with the myopathy and tremors seen in hyperthyroidism.

You're right about medical problems of the ancients, not so much that they were exotic, but that without treatment they were carried to extremes not seen often today.

These days, I try to avoid watching anything shown on the Propaganda Broadcasting System.

[guy]

32 minutes ago, guidoLaMoto said:

FWIW- the Wiki article claims Claudius suffered from weakness, particularly of the legs, and had nervous twitches of the head-- consistent with the myopathy and tremors seen in hyperthyroidism.

Claudius’s disabilities were manifest since earliest childhood. Cerebral palsy would be most likely. It has been suggested he may have also suffered from Tourette’s syndrome:

 

https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.13070163

 

And throw in a dysfunctional thyroid ….