Late last year a coin featuring a depiction of the Roman Senator Marcus Junius Brutus, Julius Caesar’s assassin, sold at auction for a little over $2 million. It is one of just 17 known coins of this type.
It was a piece of gold currency used in Rome the last century BCE – and was likely issued one or two years after Caesar’s murder. Academics say the coin’s run was short, as Brutus eventually went into exile and died in a battle in Greece in 42 BCE.
This ancient bit of currency caught the attention of the “Something Offbeat” team. We got to thinking about our own currency and how long it might last.
“Right now, I think we’re at a bit of a transitional point as physical currency is falling and electronic recordkeeping is growing,” guest Aaron Klein, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told host Mike Rogers. “But I think money is a core part of humanity.”
Listen to the full episode to learn more about how our money could, or should, change in the future.
Each week, “Something Offbeat” takes a deeper look at an unusual headline. If you have suggestions for stories the podcast should cover, send them to us at somethingoffbeat@audacy.com.