File:Roman Coin 19a.jpg

English: A garbled form of a gold aureus of Claudius (RIC I Claudius 44), from the figures illustrating the margins of Moll's map of Nottinghamshire, sold separately and as Map 29 in his Set of Fifty New and Correct Maps of England and Wales... The image is a reengraving of Figure 1 from Tabula I Nummi Romani on Page 98 of William Camden's Britannia, Vol. I, itself a garbling of the engraving in John Speed's 1611 Historie of Great Britaine, Book 6, Chapter VI, p. 58.

Obverse: TI·CLAVDIVS·CAESAR·AVG·P·M·T·R·P·XIIII·IMP·XVI·PP· [intending the clockwise TI·CLAVDIVS·CAESAR·AVG·P·M·TR·P·XIIII·IMP·XVI·PP· in Camden, garbling the counterclockwise TI·CLAVD·CAESAR·AVG·P·M·TRP·VĪĪĪĪ·IMP·XV̅Ī· in Speed, intending the TI CLAVD CAESAR AVG P M TR P VIIII IMP XVI on actual coins, Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Pontifex Maximus Tribunicia Potestas VIIII Imperator XVI, Emperor and Pontifex Maximus Tiberius Claudius Caesar in the 9th Year of His Tribunician Power and upon His 16th Acclamation as General]

Reverse: DE BRITANNIS [idem in Camden, garbling the DE BRITANN of Speed and actual coins, De Britannis, Victory over the Britons]

Speed correctly identified the coin as gold and noted "(5) The Britaines that mistrusted no such sudden inuasion, and now thus surprised unawares, dispersedly secured themselues in woods and marishes, thereby to detract time, and the more to weary the Enemy by delaies: which thing Plautius well perceiued, and with much labour and hazard followed so extreamly, that many he slew, and tooke prisoner Catacratus their Captaine, the son of Cunobeline but lately deceased, which brought such terrour amongst the Britains, that thereupon the BODVNI, the inhabitants of Oxford and Glocestershires, yeelded themselues to Plautius deuotion: for which seruice thus effected, the Senate decreed his Triumphs; and it is probable that this defeat of the Britaine forces, and surprise of their King, fell out in the sixt yeare of his Emperours raigne, by the reuerse of his money then minted with a triumphall arch and inscription, De Britann: as aboue is seene."

Mistakenly identifying a garbled form of the same coin as bronze, Camden's notes state "1. The first of the Romans after Julius Caesar, that resolved to subdue Britain in earnest, was Claudius; who shipping over his army, reduced the South part into the form of a province. And about that time, this first piece of money, with an abbreviated inscription, seems to have been coined: TI. CLAVD. CAES. AVG. P. M. TR. P. VIIII. [sic: the engraving reads XIIII, 14] IMP. XVI. i.e. Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunitia Potestate 9. Imperator 16. To explain these titles once for all. After Julius Caesar, who laid the foundation of the Roman monarchy, all his successors in honour of him assumed the titles of Caesar or Augustus; as if they were above the pitch of human nature, (for things that are sacred we call august;) that also of Pontifices Maximi or high-priests, because they were consecrated in all the kinds of priesthood, and had the oversight of all religious ceremonies: they usurped likewise the tribunitian power (but would not by any means be called tribunes,) that they might be inviolable. For, by virtue of this authority, if anyone gave them ill language, or offered them any violence, he was to be put to death without a hearing, as a sacrilegious person. They renewed this tribunitian power every year, and by it computed the years of their reign. At last they were called Emperors, because their empire was most large and ample, and under that name was couched both the power of kings and dictators, and they were styled Emperors, as often as they did anything very honourable either in person, or by their generals. But, since in the reverse of this coin there is a triumphal arch, with a man on horseback between two trophies, and the title DE BRITAN [sic: the engraving reads DE BRITANNIS and the coin DE BRITANN]; I should imagine, that in the 9th year of Claudius (for so I reckon from the tribunitian power) there were two victories [over the Britons.]" The last brackets are in the original.

The silver RIC I Claudius 45 is extremely similar. If any similar bronze coin had actually been issued, it would presumably have also included the inscription SC for Senatus Consulto (With the Senate Consulted or By Decree of the Senate), omitted here and in Camden.

Notes: London: Sold by H. Moll over-against Devereux-Court in the Strand; Tho. Bowles, Print and Map-Seller near the Chapter-House in St. Paul's Church-Yard, and J. Bowles Print and Map-Seller over-against Stocks-Market. 1724.