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Limited in London. It was authenticated by experts
in the United States and the United Kingdom who
predicted that it would sell for millions.
“I’m not surprised it set a world record as the
most valuable ancient coin ever sold,” Mark
Salzberg, Chairman of Numismatic Guaranty
Corporation in Sarasota, Florida, the company
whose experts confirmed its authenticity, said.
“It’s a masterpiece of artistry and rarity, still in
mint condition after 2,000 years, and only the
third known example made in gold. Many of us
believed it would sell for millions, and it did.”
Prior to changing hands in the auction, the coin
had been held in a private European collection for
many years.
“The coin was made in 42 BC, two years after
the famous assassination, and is one of the most
important and valuable coins of the ancient world.
The front has a portrait of Marcus Junius Brutus,
one of Caesar’s assassins, and the other side
dramatically has two daggers and the words EID
MAR, a Latin abbreviation for Ides of March,”
Salzberg said.
Though there are nearly 100 silver Ides of
March coins known to exist, this is only the third
example in gold. One of the others is in the British

The British Quad movie poster for From Russia, With Love Museum on loan from a private collection and the
by artists Eric Pulford (1915-2005) and Renato Fratini (1932-1973). other is in the Deutsche Bundesbank collection.
Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
“There were rumors of a third example and
Given the franchise’s globetrotting, international flavor, and long NGC authenticators were excited when this coin was submitted at our
term success, it’s not surprising that there are many distinct and highly London office and sent for evaluation at our headquarters in Sarasota,
collectible variations of posters from countries around the world, but Florida,” said Salzberg.
that’s not to downplay the appeal of the U.S. versions, which have often “The coin is only about the size of a modern United States five-cent
had their own variations. and a United Kingdom five-pence denomination coins, but it’s a
The 24 films in the series to date include Dr. No (1962, Sean historic treasure worth far more than its weight in gold,” he stated.
Connery), From Russia With Love (1963, Sean Connery), Goldfinger
(1964, Sean Connery), Thunderball (1965, Sean Connery), You Only
Live Twice (1967, Sean Connery), On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
(1969, George Lazenby), Diamonds Are Forever (1971, Sean Connery),
Live and Let Die (1973, Roger Moore), The Man with the Golden Gun
(1974, Roger Moore), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977, Roger Moore),
Moonraker (1979, Roger Moore), For Your Eyes Only (1981, Roger
Moore), Octopussy (1983, Roger Moore), A View to a Kill (1985, Roger
Moore), The Living Daylights (1987, Timothy Dalton), License to Kill
(1989, Timothy Dalton), GoldenEye (1995, Pierce Brosnan), Tomorrow
Never Dies (1997, Pierce Brosnan), The World is Not Enough (1999,
Pierce Brosnan), Die Another Day (2002, Pierce Brosnan), Casino
Royale (2006, Daniel Craig), Quantum of Solace (2008, Daniel Craig),
Skyfall (November 2012, Daniel Craig), and Spectre (November 2015,
Daniel Craig).
Among the oddities, Casino Royale certainly has to top the list since
it has actually had three incarnations. After the CBS television produc-
tion in 1954, the film rights were held separately from the others. This
resulted in the 1967 comedy spoof version which starred David Niven
(reportedly Fleming’s original choice to play Bond), Peter Sellers, and
Woody Allen, among others.
In 1983, Sean Connery reprised his role as an older James Bond in
Never Say Never Again, that was not produced by by Eon Productions but
by Jack Schwartzman's Taliafilm and not considered part of the franchise.
While there are Bond posters that can be a bit pricey, they are over-
whelmingly in the affordable/accessible range, and it’s relatively easy to
put together an artistically impressive collection. An ancient “Ides of March” gold coin commemorating the assassination of
Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. sold for $4,188,393 by Roma Numismatics
Limited in London on October 29, 2020.
Julius Caesar Assassination Coin
Image courtesy of Numismatic Guaranty Corporation.
Our final entry is far more history than popular culture, but it’s also
too cool to ignore. A previously unknown example of the ancient Ides
of March gold coin that commemorated Julius Caesar’s assassination in
44 BC sold for $4,188,393 on October 29, 2020, at Roma Numismatics J.C. Vaughn is Vice-President of Gemstone Publishing.
Gemstone’s Amanda Sheriff contributed to this column.

December 2020 57