Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted March 25 · Member Share Posted March 25 (edited) We mostly don't focus too much on what our coins may have been used for, or what adventures that it might have been part of. I thought it'd be a fun game to make up an anecdote or short story about something this coin went through, whether it be how it was deposited, or something significant that it paid for, etc. The prize is fairly modest; I'll paypal you $30 towards a numismatic purchase, preferably something pre-1700. The closing time: let's say noon eastern time on Saturday. It'll be the story, anecdote, what-not that I like best. It will take a little time to read through them, and I might be doing something Saturday, so I'll try to announce it Saturday. When I say short, I mean short. We don't want a novel here. Maybe what a lengthy write-up would be, max. Heck, if the scenario is clever enough, it could be something very, very short. This coin obviously saw a lot of circulation, and let's say it was deposited by the time of Postumus. Let's have 269 to be the cutoff date for any scenario. It might be a dumb idea, but I thought it would be kind of fun. There's bound to be several good stories. Or, do you think I should do $20 for 1st and $10 for 2nd? Trajan sestertius. Edited March 25 by Nerosmyfavorite68 7 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted March 25 · Member Author Share Posted March 25 Oh, and post the entry here, not in a PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Collector Posted March 25 · Patron Share Posted March 25 (edited) Once upon a time, during the reign of Commodus, there was a little girl who lived in Carnuntum in Pannonia Superior. Her father had been a tanner but he died three years earlier, when the girl was only four, and she and her little brother had to work alongside her mother doing mending and sewing in a little seamstress shop where they lived near the temple of Artemis. The girl had outgrown her shoes and the family didn't have enough money to buy her a new pair, so she walked barefoot everywhere. One day, she was running an errand for her mother and decided to take a shortcut, crossing a drainage ditch with a few inches of water and mud. And as she stepped in the mud, she felt something hard, flat, and circular, as wide as her forefoot! And she looked down and saw the glint of brass where her foot had disturbed the mud. "Why, that must be a sestertius," she thought to herself. "Somebody must have lost it in the ditch!! How lucky I am to have not worn shoes! If I had shoes, I wouldn't have taken the shortcut because I wouldn't have wanted to get my shoes muddy in the ditch!" And she dug up the coin. Examining its portrait, she thought to herself, "It's very old and worn down. The emperor didn't even have a beard when it was made! I must take it to Mama and ask her if I might buy some shoes with it!" "Mama! Look what I found in the ditch! It's enough to buy some shoes! May I take it to the cobbler and buy some shiny new shoes??" "Praise Artemis, who looks after young girls! Yes, you may buy some shoes, but stop by the temple of Artemis and thank the goddess by offering this ribbon." And the little girl bought a pair of shoes from the cobbler and offered the ribbon to Artemis, thanking the goddess for her good fortune. And the cobbler spent the coin on wine at the tavern and a soldier received the coin in change from the bartender. And the soldier went with Septimius Severus, the Governor of Pannonia Superior, to march on Rome after the death of Commodus. But the soldier left the coin behind, buried with a number of other bronze coins inside a pot on his family's ancestral home, east of Carnuntum. Ten years later, the little girl married the cobbler's son in a small ceremony on the grounds of the temple of Artemis and they lived happily ever after. One-thousand-eight-hundred years later, a Hungarian metal detectorist found the pot with a small hoard of worn bronze Roman coins and sold them to a middleman and used the proceeds to buy his seven-year-old daughter a new pair of shoes. Edited March 25 by Roman Collector 10 1 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted March 25 · Member Author Share Posted March 25 Very good! I think I'll do the $20/10 thing, so there will be a second prize. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Anthos Posted March 25 · Member Share Posted March 25 (edited) Provenance: this coin actually belonged, at one time, to the ersatz emperor Napoleon of France, probably aquired during his smash tour of Italy. It came down to me through a distant scion of the family, one Sir Dudley H---, who served as aide-de-camp to Lord Wellington at Waterloo. How my grandfather, a seasoned old RAF campaigner who flew over North Africa during 'The Big One', ultimately came into posession of it I cannot say, but when I last saw my grandfather on his deathbed he leaned over to me and with his dying breath whispered "Peter, its up to you now. Take this ancient coin, which once belonged to Ol' Boney himself, and treat it with some Gringott's Mix from Vcoins, and let the entire world share in its beauty!" Needless to say, I was duly moved! 😥 Syracuse, Reign of Agathokles 317-289 BC AE16 (17mm, 3.71g) O: Head of Kore (Persephone) left; ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩΝ before, amphora behind. R: Bull butting left; monogram above. HGC 2, 1469; Calciati II, p. 238, 108; Sear 1195v ex Aegean Numismatics Edited March 25 by Phil Anthos 10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted March 25 · Member Author Share Posted March 25 That's pretty cool, but the Trajan sestertius is the subject of the fictional scenario. We often forget that most of our coins come to us through the bad luck of the owner. They die or are unable to recover the coin. Did this coin see a historical event, or was it spent for some dastardly deed? Or, something good and fun? Was it used in gambling, or a Roman dinner party? I decided to do a first second and third prize, assuming there are enough entrants. I'm fine with teh Commodus entry, but with this amount of wear, I'd say it was deposited after 240. If there's only one entry, I'll just combine the prize money. The prize isn't much, but we don't often have cash prizes here. I'm not expecting Carlton E. Morse (famous for his blood and thunder radio shows) level writing, but whatever tickles my fancy the most will win. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Anthos Posted March 25 · Member Share Posted March 25 Oh. My mistake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted March 25 · Member Author Share Posted March 25 No worries! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Collector Posted March 25 · Patron Share Posted March 25 11 minutes ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said: That's pretty cool, but the Trajan sestertius is the subject of the fictional scenario. We often forget that most of our coins come to us through the bad luck of the owner. They die or are unable to recover the coin. Did this coin see a historical event, or was it spent for some dastardly deed? Or, something good and fun? Was it used in gambling, or a Roman dinner party? I decided to do a first second and third prize, assuming there are enough entrants. I'm fine with teh Commodus entry, but with this amount of wear, I'd say it was deposited after 240. If there's only one entry, I'll just combine the prize money. The prize isn't much, but we don't often have cash prizes here. I'm not expecting Carlton E. Morse (famous for his blood and thunder radio shows) level writing, but whatever tickles my fancy the most will win. Late in the reign of Commodus would have been 80 years after that Trajan sestertius left the mint. Plenty of time for it to get worn slick. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heliodromus Posted March 25 · Member Share Posted March 25 That coin has been through a lot of hands! One might wonder what has it not been used for?! When monetary standards remained unchanged, then coins could circulate for a very long time. It reminds me of growing up in pre-decimal England, where it was not that uncommon in the late 1960's to find 100-year old Victorian pennies in change, worn to almost the same point. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted March 25 · Member Author Share Posted March 25 Yes, like the legionary denarii or the sestertius flans used by Postumus. It's also possible that it just kept on going. Most double sestertii of Postumus are worn, some very so. That couldn't have happened within 9 years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted March 25 · Member Author Share Posted March 25 The Commodus entry stands, that's fine. I should have introduced some ground rules; Let's say this thing was buried during Severus' time or later, if that even comes into play. It could be a story from any point leaving the mint to burial, or even a time lapse. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambr0zie Posted March 25 · Member Share Posted March 25 (edited) It was year 863 Ab urbe condita. Or Year of the Consulship of Priscinus and Scipio. Or, how we call it today, year 110 AD. Roman Empire was at its peak, lead by the glorious Trajan. The Dacian wars were over, the Column of Trajan was finished after tremendous work. Quintus Nigilius Melus was a poor 20 years plebeian from Rome. From his childhood he really wanted to do something with his life. He was skilled in music, liked to hear poetry, but never learned how to read as his family could not afford this. He liked to watch gladiators but he couldn't dream to become one. He dreamed of being a scribe but his life was plain, simple and hard - like his parents' and grandparents' lives and like his ancestors... just dreaming of something better in the family's small apartment in a modest insula, where he was freezing during winters and couldn't stand the heat in summer. With 4 younger brothers and his mother. His father was dead for a few years. Ambitious but unlucky. He wanted to be in the army as it was the quickest way to earn a name but this wasn't an option as when he was still a kid, in year 857 Ab urbe condita, he wanted to see the gladiators and chariot races in Circus Maximus, just restored by Trajan. When he ran to get a good seat, he was injured by the crowd, trampled, and got a broken leg that was never completely healed. So he couldn't be a soldier, couldn't be an intellectual, not many choices. He worked hard as a laborer for the Column. Even if the physical effort was too much for him, the other laborers mocked him or patronized him, he just clenched his fists. There was no other option. He needed money to get a nice little home and marry Rastinia Livilia, the neighbour's daughter. He was in love with her since they were kids. This is why he was working, almost like a slave, in the Column. Finally he got his pay from the hard work. With all the savings he had since he was just a kid looking for work, it was just enough. He had all the coins in a small wooden chest he hid in the house, always afraid the insula might catch fire or a thief might steal his fortune. He added the pile of coins he earned in the chest and took it to Rastinia Livilia's house. He wanted to show her father that he's serious and can afford a home. All his dreams were in vain as the father, Rastinius Livius, almost kicked him out. "Get out, lame boy! is this a joke? do you think my daughter can't to better? Quintus Nigilius Lameus is your real name" So he entered the first tavern and drank like a mad man. Only to see his former work mates. "Oh, the lame boy wants to celebrate? Drink's on you then". He woke up in the morning, with torn clothes, massive hangover, full of bruises and no chest. And no money. --- So he sold the little he had in his home, his personal possessions, and left to Dacia. He knew colonists are wanted and it was the last resort for a new life. --- After long days on the road, hungry, thirsty, Quintus Nigilius Melus finally reached Tibiscum and decided to settle here. He saw a small, poor tavern, nodded thinking about what happened in Rome, entered and asked the inn keeper, an old Dacian with long, white haired, named Davos - "meat, wine and a bed". Davos looked at him, unfriendly, served him after he saw the coins and reluctantly accepted the pile of bronze coins, with one being much larger. Davos had a son, a small curly boy named Geta. He saw his father with the pile of coins in his hands. "What have you earned today, father? Something from a mighty Roman soldier? Gold?" "No, son. Just junk. Here is this coin, you haven't seen one that large, have you? I think that's Trajan, our enemy. Play with it, do whatever you want". Soon after, Davos spent the sestertius and didn't think about it too much. It circulated in Dacia like a normal currency. Some colonists and soldiers were proud seeing Trajan on it, when they recognized him, some natives were furious. --- Year 920 Ab urbe condita. Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Quadratus. Or, how we call it today, 167 AD. A "Barbarian Federation" - the Costoboci, the Carpi, the Yaziges, the Roxolans and other tribes, free Dacians and their allies, attack Roman Dacia, Raetia, Noricum and Pannonia. Then the Black Sea coast, Macedonia and Thracia, and even Thessalonica and Athens where they destroy Roman towns and cities. Dacia was not the best place to live in. Jullars Atius Tudianus was a peaceful farmer living in a small village near Rusidava, Roman castrum. One day he sold his famous red apples in the market and received a large coin from an old woman for 3 apples. He had no idea what it was. "This doesn't look like good money, ma'am!" "It is, my son, but it's old. Take it. I am old and I want an apple". "Ma'am, it's dirty and worn! are you sure it's valid?" "Yes, my son, please". So he did but he still found it curious and kept it in a drawer. Knowing the armies will soon reach their village, he and his son, who had the same name, decided to run to the mountains, with other villagers. It was safer. After the war ends, they can return and only hope their house is still in one piece and continue their lives. They decided to flee first thing in the morning, but during night the inevitable happened - the barbarian armies arrived in the village and burned it down. There was nothing remaining. Jullars Atius Tudianus and his son died quickly. Their house quickly became ashes. Including the drawer, but the coin remained under a big pile of ash. ---- Year 1020 Ab urbe condita. Or year of the Consulship of Paternus and Arcesilaus. Or, how we call it today, 267 AD. A young villager from Roman Dacia, named Quintus Nigilius Melus, marries his childhood sweetheart, Rastinia Livilia. They are both in a small village near Rusidava. There are stories that this village was burned down completely in a raid of the barbarians, 100 years or so ago. But nobody knows if this is true or just legends. Quintus Nigilius Melus decides to build a home for him and his young wife, at the periphery of the village. Not the best area, muddy in autumns, but they want their home rather than living with parents. The village is still prosperous, but more and more people are leaving Dacia and there are rumors that Gallienus will leave the province. Quintus Nigilius Melus is not very concerned by this. He wants his wife to be happy and for the moment this is enough. A home, a nice warm fire and a garden. While digging for the foundation he finds a big round object covered in dirt. Initially he thinks a small rock but after cleaning it a little with his fingers he sees a portrait. "Hey Rastinia, take a look at this! apparently our house is directly above a treasure!" "Come on Quintus! stop fooling around" "No, look!" "An old coin .. who knows how old it is, why are you wasting your time?" "Look, it has a face on it!" "Leave it there and work, if you want us to have a place to sleep!". But Quintus put it into his pocket. ----- Quintus Nigilius Melus and Rastinia Livilia were happy, had two lovely kids, but rumors started again about barbarian raids and, even worse, many people left the village. In the end, even if Quintus was very annoyed that they have to leave the freshly built home, they had to. There were less than 50 people remaining, most of them very old. And they had two children to take care of. Rastinia Livilia had some relatives in Moesia (this province will be soon named "Dacia Aureliana" after Rome officially decided to leave the Dacia province) so they left to start a new life. When Quintus turned for the last time to look at his house, he remembered about the big coin in his pocket. "Perhaps it belongs to this land, who knows. It's better to leave it here". So he dug a small hole with his hands and put the coin there. ---- In 1992 some children were playing in Valea Caselor, near the town of Dragasani, Romania, and found a big coin. They gave it to their father, who thought he had found a fortune, but after speaking with many collectors/antiquarians, he finally understood that he is not a millionaire. He sold it to an antiquarian and with the money he earned, he drank a beer and his kids got a bottle of soda each. --- It was 2024 AD. A collector who uses the nickname @Nerosmyfavorite68 on NumisForums bought a Trajan sestertius. Edited March 30 by ambr0zie grammar, spelling, OCD 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akeady Posted March 25 · Supporter Share Posted March 25 3 hours ago, Heliodromus said: That coin has been through a lot of hands! One might wonder what has it not been used for?! When monetary standards remained unchanged, then coins could circulate for a very long time. It reminds me of growing up in pre-decimal England, where it was not that uncommon in the late 1960's to find 100-year old Victorian pennies in change, worn to almost the same point. I got an 1826 shilling in change in the 1980s - before the 5p and 10p were reduced in size, shillings and florins were fairly common, but I only ever found two silver ones - this and a 1917 shilling. I wonder how it stayed in circulation so long - anyway, I rescued it 😄 ATB, Aidan. 6 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heliodromus Posted March 25 · Member Share Posted March 25 14 minutes ago, akeady said: I wonder how it stayed in circulation so long Surprisingly nice condition too! A couple years ago I bought a cheap young victoria penny out of fondness for the old coinage, which has that same shamrock-rose-thistle emblem. I remember we'd get South African ha'pennies in change sometimes too - similar ship design to the British one. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted March 26 · Member Author Share Posted March 26 We have some nice entries so far! Assuming there's a third entry, I think there will be a third prize, and depending on how I'm feeling, I might bump up the prizes. It's wonderful how creative people are! I'm liking all the entries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maridvnvm Posted March 26 · Member Share Posted March 26 Not an entry but... My grandfather was a publican from the age of 18 until he retired in 1977 at the age of 65. As such he operated through the variety of monetary debasement stages in the UK. Pre-1920 silver coins were 92.5% silver, which was debased to 50% silver between 1920 and 1947 at which point silver was replaced by cupronickel. Throughout the working day and again at the end of the working day he would separate silver coins (initially higher silver coins) from the other coinage and placing them in a jar. He was aware that a similar process was being performed at the bank, where they were removing these older coins from circulation. I spoke to him about this and naturally the ratio of coins decreased over time. I am not sure what he did with the jars when they became full but I know that he disposed of them for above face value via whatever route. At his retirement he only had a jar that he had been filling since about 1965. This weighed about 15 Kg and had a mix of coins going back to the 1820s and being largely very worn down to the levels seen in the sestertius in the OP. So from this we can see that silver coins circulated for up to 150 years going through more hands than we can count probably passing through many hands on any one day. . 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deinomenid Posted March 26 · Supporter Share Posted March 26 @maridvnvm if your father was the landlord at Gresham's pub/club in London this story would be one the best ever on this site! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted March 30 · Member Author Share Posted March 30 I'm excited to announce the winner; ambr0zie, for his heartwarming entry. However, because Roman Collector's story was also delightful, I'll do it this way. First prize receives $30 and second prize receives $29. Get back to me via PM and sometime today or tonight I'll paypal it, via family and friends. The money can subsidize an upcoming coin buy. This seemed the easiest way. The winner thus can buy the coin anywhere. You're both winners! 4 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambr0zie Posted March 30 · Member Share Posted March 30 @Nerosmyfavorite68 thank you for the generous prize. I hope I didn't get anybody (or everybody) bored with that story. I started it during work while doing very annoying tasks and escalations, it took a few hours, I was doing a task, then writing a line, then another escalation email, then another line. I am writing you a PM now. I will spend the prize, most likely, in the following weeks in an auction. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted March 30 · Member Author Share Posted March 30 It was fine. I liked it! Writing a story isn't an easy task. Ok, I see the little notification above. I'd prefer to go to paypal at the same time, so when Roman Collector's pm comes in, I'll do both at once. I'm currently waiting for the grocery delivery to arrive, and then I'm dashing off to the ice cream shop. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambr0zie Posted March 30 · Member Share Posted March 30 I confirm that I received the prize from Nerosmyfavorite68. Thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted March 30 · Member Author Share Posted March 30 Prizes sent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Anthos Posted March 30 · Member Share Posted March 30 cool thing! 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted April 2 · Member Author Share Posted April 2 Be sure and post whatever future coin the supplement went towards, please. That would be fun to see. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.