Bronze Age sword found in Germany

A spectactular Bronze Age sword with an octagonal hilt was discovered during excavations in Nördlingen, Bavaria, Germany in June 2023. The sword was found in a grave alongside the skeletal remains of three people—a man, a woman, and a boy—who were buried in quick succession. The entire sword, including the octagonal handle, is forged from bronze. The hilt was created using a complex overlay casting technique where the handle was cast directly over the blade.The very rare weapon dates back to the late 14th century B.C.

Gaius (Caligula) with Agrippina Senior - $216k

Leading the sale in late 2024 was a fine Gaius (Caligula, AD 37-41), with Agrippina Senior. AV aureus. NGC AU 4/5 - 4/5. Lugdunum, 2nd issue, AD 37-38. Issued early in his reign, the coin honors his mother Agrippina Senior, who died in 33 AD of starvation after being exiled by Tiberius. Caligula initially honored his family in his first year, including his sisters, but the inclusion of his mother was a bad omen.

37-41 AD. Æ Sestertius (35mm, 28.85 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck 37-38 AD. Gaius' three sisters standing facing: Agrippina (as Securitas) leaning on column, holding cornucopiae; Drusilla (as Concordia), holding patera and cornucopiae; Julia (as Fortuna) holding rudder and cornucopiae.

Drusilla, Caligula's favourite, died in 38 AD at the age of 22, probably of fever. In his demented madness, Caligula's incestuous lust for his remaining sisters turned to violent hatred. They plotted against him. Agrippina and Livilla conspired with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus to overthrow Caligula. When the plot failed in 39 AD, Caligula exiled them to the Pontine Islands.

The Staffordshire Hoard

With more than 3,500 items, amounting to some 5kg of gold and 1.4kg of silver – plus thousands of garnets – the Staffordshire hoard is the largest cache of Anglo-Saxon metalwork ever found. Archaeologists think the treasures were trophies, captured over multiple mid-seventh century battles.

It's likely that they were seized by the English midlands kingdom of Mercia from the kingdoms of Northumbria, East Anglia and Wessex.

The items are almost all military. The hoard was made up of fittings from up to 150 swords, gold and garnet elements of high status seax (fighting knifes), a gilded silver helmet, crosses, and a bishop’s headdress.

The ornate bishop’s headdress is the world’s earliest surviving example of high status ecclesiastical headgear. One element bears an inscription – a quotation from the Book of Numbers. It reads “Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee”. It's possible that the hoard was war booty captured by the pagan Mercian king, Penda, from armies led by Christians.

The hoard was found in the village of Hammerwich in Staffordshire.

A silver gilt strip bears the Biblical inscription in Latin – the only inscribed item in the haul.

The hoard was purchased jointly by the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery for £3.285m under the Treasure Act.

Saffron

Saffron, the world’s most expensive spice, is extracted from the flowers of the saffron crocus, Crocus sativus. It has been used for over 50,000 years. Saffron was a precious commodity treasured across ancient civilizations for medicine, dye, perfume, and rituals. It was cultivated and traded extensively.

Saffron was a prized luxury item in ancient Rome, symbolizing high status and extreme wealth. Romans sprinkled saffron essences and scattered saffron threads in public spaces, royal halls, theaters, and banquet rooms to deodorize and perfume the air. When Emperor Nero entered Rome for a triump in 67 AD, citizens famously spread saffron along the streets for him. It wasn't a bloody military victory, Nero was celebrating his 1,808 first-place prizes in music, poetry, and chariot racing.

According to the Roman historian Suetonius, Nero rode in the historical triumphal chariot used by Augustus. He wore a purple robe covered in gold stars and held his musical crowns proudly in his hands. The procession traveled through the Circus Maximus, the Velabrum, and the Forum up to the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine. As he passed, citizens and attendants showered him with birds, ribbons, sweets, and the very expensive saffron. The spectacle alienated the Roman aristocracy and military commanders and accelerated unrest that forced Nero's death months later in June 68 AD.

The first known use by humans of wild crocuses was as pigment for cave paintings, about 50,000 years ago in today’s Iraq. Ancient texts from Sumer, Assyria, and Babylonia also describe the use of wild crocuses in medicine and dye. Ancient artworks and genetics point to Bronze Age Greece, in 1700 BCE or earlier, as the origin of saffron’s domestication. Domesticated saffron can only be propagated asexually with human help. The process was first described by the Greek philosopher Theophrastus in the fourth century BCE. Today, domesticated saffron is grown for use in cooking and perfumes and as a yellow dye. 16000 flowers, requiring up to 470 person-hours to collect, yield a single kilo, worth between $1,300 and $10,000.

Dense patches of crocus flowers on the fresco ‘The Saffron Gatherers’ from the island of Santorini (1600 BCE) suggest cultivation.

Around the globe today, all saffron crocuses are effectively clones dating back to saffron’s emergence in ancient times.

The Berthouville Treasure

The Berthouville treasure is a hoard of Roman silver uncovered by a farmer ploughing in March 1830 at the hamlet of Villeret in Berthouville, Normandy, northern France. The treasure belonged to a sanctuary of Mercury Canetonensis. In the mid-1st century BCE, Julius Caesar had identified Mercury as one of the main deities of Gaul.

A cache of pearl and emerald-encrusted rings, bracelets, gold necklaces and other opulent objects from the Roman Empire were displayed at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades in 2015. The assortment of precious jewelry accompanies the 90-piece gilt-silver Berthouville Treasure of statuettes and ornamental vessels. The treasure consists of silver and other metalwork and dates to the 1st to late 2nd centuries

The restored treasure was exhibited at the Getty Villa from November 2014 to August 2015, then went on tour in the US and Europe before being returned to Paris.

Cameo of Emperor Trajan, Roman, about A.D. 100; sardonyx set in a seventeeth-century gold, enamel, and ruby mount

Pitcher with Scenes from the Trojan War, Roman, A.D. 1-100; silver and gold. Achilles dragging the body of Hector around the walls of Troy

Pitcher with Scenes from the Trojan War (detail), Roman, A.D. 1-100; silver and gold. The death of Achilles

Offering Bowl with a Medallion of Mercury in a Rural Shrine (detail), Roman, A.D. 175-225; silver and gold

Caligae

Roman caligae were the heavy-soled, hobnailed military sandal-boots famously worn by legionary soldiers and auxiliaries throughout the Roman Republic and Empire. Their durable design allowed soldiers to march long distances in diverse climates without blistering or overheating. Dozens of iron nails were hammered through the sole. The iron hobnails drastically reduced wear and provided excellent traction on soft, slippery, or uneven ground.

The nails acted like cleats on rough, muddy, or sandy terrain and provided an offensive advantage in close-quarters combat. Roman soldiers were called caligati. ("booted ones") Emperor Caligula got his famous nickname "Little Boot" because his parents dressed him in miniature soldier's armor including caligae as a toddler. The distinctive clattering and crunching sound of thousands of hobnailed sandals marching in unison struck fear into Rome's enemies.

By the late 1st century, the Roman military began transitioning toward enclosed leather boots, known as calcei, which offered better protection in harsh and cold environments.

Alexander the Great's gold distater

The Kingdom of Macedon gold distater is a trophy coin for collectors. Rare, rich in detail, and resonant with the mythos of Alexander the Great, they are always in demand. This circa 325 to 323 B.C. gold distater of Alexander III (the Great) was issued in either Aegae or Amphipolis and was likely used to pay soldiers. A distater was equivalent to about 20 day’s wages for a Macedonian soldier in wartime, a huge sum. The coin weighed about 17.22 grams.

Alexander the Great, born in 356 BC, was one of the most successful military leaders in history. He conquered a large part of Asia and ruled a kingdom that spanned from the Ionian sea to the Himalayas before he was 30 years old. One of his many achievements was a single currency across his empire. Flush with Persian gold he struck the largest Greek gold coin issued up to that time: the gold distater. Alexander the Great was determined to outdo the hero Hercules. Athena was the protector of Hercules, and Alexander adopted her image on his gold coinage, showing her wearing a Corinthian helmet with a coiled snake.

Sarcophagus of King Abdalonymos of Sidon

The reverse is represents Nike, the goddess of victory. Gold distaters were very valuable. This was inconvenient for daily use, so most were melted down. Staters weighed roughly 8.6g of .997 fine purity. Exceptional examples are always in high demand. Coins that were struck during his reign (lifetime issues) are the most desirable by collectors and the rarest.

A top quality Alexander the Great gold distater will bring $50,000.

Athenian tetradrachm

Athenians struck their first coins circa 560 BCE with the first tetradrachms appearing around 515 BCE. The obverse of the first Athenian tetradrachm depicts the head of a Gorgon, which Athena created. Athena’s uncle Poseidon raped the priestess Medusa in Athena’s temple; Athena was outraged over the desecration, but she had no power over the god of the sea so she instead punished Medusa, turning her into a Gorgon, a monster with snakes for hair.

Athenians struck the first of their iconic “Owl” Tetradrachms around 510 BCE. The obverse portrays the helmeted head of Athena while the reverse depicts Athena’s owl and a sprig of olive, with the inscription AΘE (an abbreviation of AΘENAION, meaning “of the Athenians”). The owl is closely associated with Athena as the goddess of wisdom.

Early Tetradrachm. c. 475-465 BCE.

Athens became extremely wealthy due to the vast veins of silver ore found in the mines of Laurion. This led to the Athenian mint churning out huge numbers of tetradrachms. They became the world's first trade currency. Athens entered a period where it was the principal city of the Greek world.

The Athenian Owl tetradrachm was minted for over 400 years. The Athenian Owl gained widespread use due to it's high silver content and high production. The Athenian government minted coins at a profit, building state coffers. As the mines of Laurion were eventually depleted, Athen's wealth and influence fell.

Despite the coin’s many revisions, the general design remained the same. The obverse depicts the Greek goddess Athena, who represents wisdom and warfare. The ideals are portrayed in Athena’s large eyes, representing wisdom, and her crested war helmet, representing war. The Owl appears with two-leaf olive sprig, representing olives and olive oil, the primary exports of Athens.

The Athenian Owl tetradrachm was the dominant currency in the ancient world until Roman coinage replaced it in the 1st century B.C.