Thursday 6 June 2019

UK Ecstasy and Embarrassment of Archaeological Outreach Gone Wrong


 "As well as being one of the world’s most 
expensive Roman coins, it is the most money ever paid
 for one of Allectus. It is now the most valuable Roman coin
 minted in Britain to have been sold at auction."

Not 'Brexit' at all, coineys
should read the reverse
 with understanding
Dumbdown narrativisation for the proles (Sam Lennon, 'Roman coin of killer emperor found near Dover sells for half a million' Kent Online 06 June 2019).
An ancient Roman coin showing a killer emperor has sold for more than half a million pounds. It went under the hammer today for £552,000, more than five times the maximum estimate of £100,000. It shows the head of Allectus, a finance minister who rose to the top by murdering his predecessor. The coin was discovered near Dover. The gold coin, found near Dover, went this afternoon at an auction by Dix Noonan Webb, the Mayfair-based international coin, medal, banknote and jewellery specialist. [...] It was found by a 30-year-old metal detectorist and his brother in March, next to a Roman road. The detectorist, who wishes to remain anonymous now says: “I cannot believe it, we are ecstatic. We expected it to sell for a little over estimate, but not five times. "We are sharing the money with the farmer, who is also thrilled.”
Yep, I bet they are.  Archaeologists are also enthusiastically hailing this find (an Oriens Aug aureus) as being super-glittery. It seems that theere are only 24 aurei of Allectus known worldwide. And where is this new find in the PAS database, please? Because its not this one, is it? The metal detectorist may be 'overjoyed' at being able to pocket his share of half a million quid without being in any way constrained to truthfully and responsibly report exactly what he found, where and how. But this is scandalous mismanagement of the heritage in the UK. Yet do the media in any way hint at that? Where are the staff of the British Museum's press office?

This is the message the public are getting as a result of the PAS current style of 'say nowt outreach'"
Independent: ' Metal detectorist 'ecstatic' after find on farm turns out to be  ultra-rare Roman coin fetching £552,000 at public sale'
and a variant form 'Steel detectorist ‘ecstatic’ after discover on farm seems to be ultra-rare Roman coin fetching £552,000 at public sale'  The Today press (shame they misspelt 'steal' as in knowledge theft).
An Ancient Roman Gold Coin Found in a Field Just Sold for $700,000
Rare Roman gold coin found in Kent field sells at £460,000
Rare Roman Coin Found in a Field in England Sells for $700,000
Incredible 2,300-year-old Roman coin sells for £550,000 at auction

And the dumbest of dumbdown ever from the Express: 
(but Britain then decided to Remain until it got kicked out 115 years later which led to the Dark Ages, yeh - and that reverse means what, in fact, losers?). This is not the first time this cheap argument has been used by UK coineys - see here. This is where PAS clickbait dumbdown 'archaeological outreach' gets us. 



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