May 16, 2022 2 min read News

Pieces of Eight: A Dressing Down, Beware The Ides of March and a 20 Million Year Old Tooth.

🏛 A small but potent piece of history is up for sale in Zurich this month, when Numismatica Ars Classica offers one of only three known examples of the “Eid Mar” aureus, celebrating the “liberation” of Rome after the bloody assassination of the dictator Julius Caesar on the Ides of March in 44BC.

“This is among the most important coins of the ancient world. To have a coin that is witness to such a significant moment in history is quite extraordinary.”

- Arturo Russo, co-director of the auction house.

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Our Take: An astonishing item with an incredible story which enjoyed over a decade on display at the British Museum. The Brutus Eid Mar Aureus is legendary in the numismatic community, the very pinnacle for collectors of ancient coins. The story has fascinated historians and artists alike, even Shakespeare warned "Beware the Ides of March". We would love to offer this through Showpiece ...Et tu, collector?

🦈 A six-year-old boy has found a shark tooth belonging to a giant prehistoric creature that could be up to 20 million years old. Sammy found the 10cm-long megalodon tooth on Bawdsey beach in Suffolk during a bank holiday break.

It has been confirmed as belonging to a megalodon - the largest shark that ever existed - by expert Prof Ben Garrod.

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Our Take: Collectables are as varied as the people who acquire them and young Sammy has stumbled across an incredible find. Natural History collectables tend to receive minimal coverage however, the stories are just as fascinating as this 20 million year old tooth proves. There is also a market for them, a Megalodon Jaws with nearly 200 teeth was recently fractionalised for $600k!!!

👗 Following a fit of public outrage, much of it from textile conservators, over Kim Kardashian wearing an iconic Marilyn Monroe dress to the Met Gala, the International Council of Museums has issued renewed guidelines on handling historic garments. Earlier this month, Kardashian infamously wore the dress that Monroe had on in 1962 when she sang “Happy Birthday Mr. President” to John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden. Kardashian borrowed the dress from a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! collection in Orlando, not an accredited museum.

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Our Take: Custodians have the responsibility to protect items of cultural significance. The furore caused by the simple act of loaning out Monroe's dress highlights how passionate collectors are about the conservation of iconic items for future generations. Owners are passing on more than a bit of fabric, they are sharing history.

🖌 Showpiece number three is here, and we're very excited! If you didn't see our announcement yesterday, click below to find out more.

Early Access

That's it for this week, thanks as always for reading and if you have any comments please get in touch via hello@showpiece.com.

The Showpiece Team

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