Napoleon's boots - $128k

A pair of boots belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte was expected to fetch 80,000 euros. ($88k) Auctioneers said Napoleon owned the leather riding boots during his final exile in Saint Helena, after his defeat at Waterloo.

"Death is nothing, but to live defeated is to die every day." — Napoleon Bonaparte

For his 1804 coronation, Napoleon Bonaparte wore a Roman-style gold laurel wreath made of 44 large and 12 small leaves. Finding it too heavy, 6 leaves were removed. While the wreath was famously melted down in 1819, the leaves that had been removed survived. Jeweller Biennais gave one leaf to each of his six  daughters. While five leaves vanished, one leaf survived and was passed down.  In 2017 the top estimate was €100k. It fetched over €600k.

The HMS Sussex

The HMS Sussex was an 80-gun ship of the English Royal Navy, lost in a severe storm on 1 March 1694 off Gibraltar.

The flagship of Admiral Sir Francis Wheler was built in 1693 and sailed from Portsmouth on December 27, escorting a fleet of 48 warships and 166 merchant ships.

Suspected to be on board were 10 tons of gold coins due to the Duke of Savoy, an ally of Britain.

A violent storm hit the flotilla near the Strait of Gibraltar on the morning of March 1, 1694.

The HMS Sussex sank, joining a dozen other ships of the fleet. Only two survived of the 500 crew on board. Wheler's body was found on the eastern shore of the rock of Gibraltar two days later 'much mangled'. There were 1,200 casualties in what remains one of the worst disasters of the Royal Navy.

Historical records suggest that a shipment of gold equal to a million pounds sterling was destined for Savoy, aboard HMS Sussex.

Evidence suggests that the payment went down with the ship. Between 1998 and 2001, Odyssey Marine Exploration searched for the HMS Sussex and announced that it had located the shipwreck at a depth of 800 metres.

Odyessey has "postponed further work on the project to allow diplomatic issues to be resolved."

From AI. "In today's value, £1,000,000 from 1693 is worth approximately £139 million based purely on retail purchasing power, but commands an economic power equivalent to over £27 billion when compared as a share of the United Kingdom's modern economic output."

10 metric tonnes of gold today (321,507 troy ounces) is worth about $943 million USD. Due to the extreme depth of the wreck, requiring robots, recovering anything is expensive and problematic.

Siege of Jerusalem - Vespasian

June 23rd in ancient Rome marks the death of Emperor Vespasian in 79 CE. A pivotal figure, Vespasian founded the Flavian Dynasty. He is best remembered for commissioning the Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre). Nearing his death, he famously joked, "Vae, puto deus fio" ("Oh dear, I think I'm becoming a god"). Iudaea Devicta is 'Defeat of Judea.'

In 70 CE Roman forces led by son and future emperor Titus breached the second of three fortified walls surrounding Jerusalem.

The first coin attributed to Pompey is a rare gold aureus, probably issued at Rome on his triumph in 71 BCE. Five are known.

In 63 BC Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem. The Romans intially ruled through a local client king but later Jerusalem became a directly ruled province, marked by oppressive governors. Discord culminated in 66 CE in the First Jewish Revolt. The revolt was successful at first: Jewish forces quickly expelled the Romans from Jerusalem, and a revolutionary government was formed. Nero sent general Vespasian to meet the Jewish forces, an endeavour that pushed the majority of the rebels into Jerusalem by the time Vespasian was proclaimed emperor in 69 CE.

In April 70 CE Roman general Titus besieged Jerusalem. Coinciding with Passover, the Romans allowed pilgrims to enter the city but refused to let them leave—thus depleting supplies in Jerusalem. Within the walls, the militant Zealots struggled with other Jewish factions, which weakened the resistance further. The Romans encircled the city with a wall to cut off supplies to the city completely. The Flavians seized power amidst the Year of the Four Emperors in 69 CE, and used the conquest of Jerusalem as imperial propaganda. Judaea Capta coinage was issued in all denominations.

The immense wealth plundered from the Temple helped finance monuments in Rome, including the Colosseum and the Arch of Titus.

By August 70 CE the Romans had breached the final defenses and massacred much of the remaining population. They also destroyed the Second Temple. The loss of the Temple is still mourned by Jews today during the fast of Tisha be-Av.

Relief on the Arch of Titus depicting temple spoils of 71 CE.

In 2017 excavations at Mount Zion in Jerusalem discovered a gold coin bearing the likeness of Roman Emperor Nero. The coin had been struck in either 56 and 57 AD. The aureus bears the portrait of a young Nero as Caesar. Researchers said that the coin was likely part of a Jewish store of wealth, hidden before their mansions were razed – along with the rest of the city – by Titus and the Roman legions. The coin was likely overlooked by looting Roman soldiers.

Damnatio ad bestias: Roman counterfeiters

A type of Roman execution called damnatio ad bestias was reserved for the most serious offences to society: deserters, poisoners, sorcerers, kidnappers of children, leaders of rebellions and – last but not least – counterfeiters. Roman law viewed the creation of fake currency not just as theft, but as an act of treason and an attack on the emperor’s authority.

Convicted counterfeiters were designated as noxii (condemned criminals).

They were brought into the arena unarmed and defenseless to be mauled by imported predators like lions, bears, or leopards. A sentence of damnatio ad bestias stripped a Roman citizen of all rights. They were legally barred from writing a will, and the state confiscated their remaining property.

Even the earliest Lydian coins were counterfeited. Silver coinage was an idea that the Romans adopted from the Greeks, beginning about 290 BCE. Counterfeiting inevitably came along with the innovation. A handful of ancient counterfeiters’ dies used to strike denarii have survived to command high prices on the antiquities market and even some fakes from the era are collectible.

Kruger’s lost hoard

In 2021 the South African Mint released a trove of South African gold coins – Kruger ponde – that were discovered in a Swiss vault. During the second Boer War in South Africa, gold was evacuated from Pretoria by the Transvaal government with no accurate account of its fate. These original, certified and graded coins sold out quickly. Eendrag maak mag is 'Unity is Strength'. The latin equivalent is Ex Unitate Vires.

Coins were available in two sets, the first comprising an 1893 to 1900 Lost Hoard Kruger half-pond, accompanied by a 2019 1/10 oz gold privy-mark proof Krugerrand. This set was 233 units. The second set consisted of an 1893 to 1900 Lost Hoard Kruger full-pond with a 2019 quarter oz gold privy-mark proof Krugerrand. This set was limited to 677.

Prices varied with condition. Set prices ranged from R14,500 to R250,000+ ZAR (South African Rand) per set. That is $884 to $15,250 USD. Prices today are much higher, partially because of the rise of gold. Most favoured is the full-pond. The bulk of the Kruger hoard is reputed to have been hidden in the South African bush to avoid it being captured by the British. The rest was brought overseas by President Paul Kruger, who died in Switzerland. The coins sold are a fraction of his hoard.

The 1902 Veld pond (Veld = Afrikaans and Dutch meaning 'field' or plain) were minted in Pilgrims Rest from hand made dies using a heavy fly press in a makeshift workshop while officials were on the run from British forces. It is one of South Africa's rarest historical coins. This example, one of 656, is MS 63 NGC. Gem Uncirculated. Price in April 2026 was R324,500. ($19,656 USD)

A 29 year old former school teacher, Mr PJ Kloppers, was appointed as the Head of the Mint and kept the dies under lock and key. A hand press was improvised and discs of 24 carat gold were manufactured. The coins were struck with only one pair of dies and a lathe turned by two men. Forgeries were made as early as 1903.

Golden Pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla

The Golden Pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla is a Scythian treasure discovered on this day (June 22) in a large kurgan near the city of Ordzonikidzhe in Ukraine in 1971. It dates to the 4th century BC, and was made by Greek goldsmiths, probably in a workshop located in Scythian lands.

The top section reflects daily life. The middle section is believed to represent nature. The third section is thought to represent Scythian belief in their mythology.

The pectoral is made of 24-carat gold, and weighs just over 1,150 grams. The pectoral consists of four torques arranged in a concentric arc, forming three crescent-shaped fields.

The Golden Pectoral is a masterpiece of Greco-Scythian metalwork.

Borys Mozolevsky, a Ukrainian Soviet archeologist, found the treasure while digging on the western bank of the Dnipro River in central Ukraine. The grave mound belonged to a high status Scythian aristocrat and despite being looted in antiquity, the Golden Pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla survived. Few objects remain due to grave robbers. The Golden Pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla remains one of the most astounding pieces of gold jewelry to ever survive from the ancient world. The high quality of filigree craftsmanship astonishes modern jewelers. All details of the 160 elements are finely detailed - feathers, muscles, ribs, hoofs, horns, and even the genitalia of the depicted creatures - are anatomically precise and meticulously exact.

The first circulating coins

Little is known about this electrum (natural alloy of gold and silver) coin.

Ionia, Circa 650-600 BC. Hekte (one-sixth stater)

It was minted in Ionia, somewhere in central Western Anatolia on the shores of the Aegean, but the precise city-state that produced it is unknown. It could have been minted in Miletus, a city often referred to as the origin of the modern world. This type likely represents the first coins which circulated in everyday use. They are small, 1/24th staters which represented about a day’s pay. Larger denominations are rare. Even fewer trites (one-third stater) are known, and only three staters are known.

IONIA. Ephesus. Phanes (ca. 625-600 BC). EL stater. NGC VF 4/5 - 4/5.

Heritage offered the impossibly rare Phanes stater in 2019. Phanes coinage falls into seven denominations, from the stater down to a 1/96 stater, all featuring the stag in various poses. There are only two other known staters. It made $300k.

During the excavation of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (present day Turkey near the Black Sea), a group of coins was found which are thought to be its 'foundation deposit', a custom that supposedly prevented the building from falling into ruin. The largest type in the group, a stater, has a retrograde inscription ΦΑΝΕΟΣ ΕΜΙ ΣΗΜΑ (Phaneos emi sema) This can be translated as 'I am the badge of Phanes'. As Phanes was a god of light it could mean "I am the sign of the bright one"

These are recognized as the first inscribed coins, which revolutionized trade and commerce.

The Gessel hoard

In April 2011, work on a natural gas pipeline in northern Germany unearthed one of the largest gold hoards from prehistoric Europe known. Dated to about 1300 B.C., the Gessel gold hoard consists of 117 artifacts that weigh over 3.7 pounds (1.7 kg).

The Gessel hoard is comprised of 82 spiral rings linked into eight chains of 10 rings and one chain of two rings. An additional 32 spirals of various sizes were also in the hoard. Not jewelry, the spirals were likely a form of currency in the Middle Bronze Age and were crafted from recycled gold. The Gessel hoard's burial is a mystery. Around 3,300 years ago, someone placed the immensely valuable gold in a linen bag, secured the bag with six bronze pins, and buried it, never to return.

Pompeii reveals Narcissus, Leda and the Swan frescoes

In 2019 archeologists discovered a fresco in an ancient Pompeii residence that portrays Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection. The discovery is in the same house where a fresco was found depicting 'Leda and the Swan.' The lavishly decorated houses in ancient Pompeii continue to yield treasures.