High grade EID MAR silver denarius brings $533k

A Brutus EID MAR silver denarius from 43 or 42 B.C. — “the obverse struck slightly off center and with minor weakness and light marks, otherwise, Extremely Fine” — brought a closing price May 30 of 420,000 Swiss francs ($533,039 USD) in Leu Numismatik’s auction of ancient coins. The most famous Roman coin in existence, Brutus’ EID MAR issue relates to one of the crucial turning points in world history: the assassination of Emperor Julius Caesar on the Ides of March. On March 14, 44 B.C., a group of more than 60 senators led by Marcus Iunius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus attacked Caesar during a Senate meeting and stabbed him to death. About 100 silver examples are known to exist. High-grade or certified pieces command high prices, with exceptional examples fetching sums up to $720k at major auctions. Low grade examples will bring $50k.

The Suffolk aurei hoard

In 2025 a hoard of 39 gold coins spanning the reigns of Augustus to Nero, covering 19 BC to 55 AD was found. Experts suggest the cache was likely hidden by a Roman soldier during the turbulent period of the Boudican revolt against Roman rule in East Anglia around 60 AD. The 39 gold coins equaled more than four years pay for a first-century Roman legionary, a huge sum.In the 1st century AD, a single gold aureus was officially worth 25 silver denarii or 100 brass sesterces.

A ploughed field in Suffolk returned the coins, all in excellent condition, found as a surface scatter likely from a decayed leather pouch.

Octavian and the Battle of Actium

In 43 BCE, Octavian formed the Second Triumvirate with Marc Antony and Lepidus. They defeated Brutus and Cassius and divided the empire with Octavian holding most of the West and Antony the East. In 33 BC, the Second Triumvirate ended, leaving Antony without legal authority. Octavian then began a campaign against him, declaring war against Cleopatra.

The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between Octavian's fleet, led by Marcus Agrippa, and the combined fleets of Mark Antony and Cleopatra on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea. In early 31 BC, Antony and Cleopatra were temporarily stationed in Greece. Mark Antony possessed 500 ships and 70,000 infantry and made his camp at Actium. He was soon trapped on both land and sea. Antony's fleet sailed out through the straits of Actium in a desperate attempt to break free of Marcus Agrippa's naval blockade. On this morning, 2 September, 31 BC, the battle that ended the Roman Republic was about to begin. Before dawn, Octavian was walking his lines at Actium when he met a man driving a donkey. He asked the man his name. Eutychus, the man said. It means Fortunate. And the donkey? Nikon. It means Victor. By nightfall Antony and Cleopatra's fleet was broken.

While fleets were about equal, Antony was eventually routed by Octavian's smaller, more maneuverable ships. On September 2, Antony and Cleopatra managed to escape with a small force, leaving the rest of his army to surrender to Octavian. The end came in Alexandria on 1 August 30 BC. Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. On the hill where he had camped, Octavian built the 'Campsite Memorial of Augustus'. Into its wall he set the bronze rams stripped from Antony's captured ships. Thirty six of them, in sockets cut to fit each one. On the wall, he thanked Mars and Neptune. Pace parta terra marique: peace won on land and sea.

Beside it, in bronze, he put a donkey.

The lifetime aureus shown was minted while Octavian retained his name, around 32-31 BC and the time of the Battle of Actium. It features the inscription "CAESAR DIVI F" on the reverse, which translates to "Caesar, son of a god".

Octavian's victory enabled him to consolidate power. He adopted the title of Princeps (first citizen), and in 27 BC was awarded the title of Augustus (revered) by the senate. The reign of Augustus gave Rome a golden era known as the 'Pax Romana' during which he served for 41 years. It was Augustus’ coinage reform in 23 BCE that saw the aureus come into consistent use.

Legio XIII Gemina

Legio XIII Gemina was one of the most celebrated military units of the Roman Army.

It was famous for its pivotal role in Julius Caesar’s rise to power. Formed in 57 BC to fight in the Gallic Wars, this is the legion that marched across the Rubicon River with Caesar in 49 BC, an act of defiance that sparked the Roman Civil War. The 13th remained loyal to Caesar.

Legio XIII was active throughout the entire war, fighting at Dyrrhachium (48 BC) and Pharsalus (48 BC). After the decisive victory over Pompey at Pharsalus, the legion was to be disbanded, and the legionaries "pensioned off" with land grants. The legion was recalled for the Battle of Thapsus (46 BC) and the final Battle of Munda (45 BC). After Munda, Caesar disbanded the legion, retired his veterans, and gave them farmland in their native Italy.

Augustus reconstituted the legion once again in 41 BC to deal with the rebellion of Sextus Pompeius (son of Pompey) in Sicily. Legio XIII acquired the cognomen Gemina ("twin") after being reinforced with veteran legionaries from other legions following the war against Mark Antony and the Battle of Actium. After the disaster of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9, the legion was sent as reinforcements. In the year of the four emperors 69 AD, XIII Gemina supported first Otho and then Vespasian against Vitellius, fighting in the two Battles of Bedriacum. Under Trajan the legion took part in both Dacian wars (101–102, 105–106), and it was transferred by Trajan in 106 to the newly conquered province of Dacia.

Last reports come from the 5th century, where a legio tertiadecima gemina was stationed in Babylon. An archaeological excavation of an elementary school in Vienna in 2024 uncovered bricks bearing the stamp of the 13th Legion Gemina. From the 2nd century, They were likely the broken remnants of pilae stacks, the pillars of brick used to raise the floor for a hypocaust heating system.

Roman dagger found in Switzerland

A volunteer archaeologist using a metal detector in Switzerland uncovered a 2000-year-old dagger (pugio) in 2019. Due to its cross-shaped handle, the dagger can be dated to 50 BC. Daggers of this type are extremely rare with only four known. The dagger was found in the mountainous Graubünden region of Switzerland, an area believed to be the site of battle where Imperial Roman soldiers fought Rhaetian warriors in 15 BC. His discovery sparked an excavation of the area that revealed a trove of ancient military artifacts including lead slingshot and hobnails from soldiers' boots. A Roman coin minted between 29 BC and 26 BC during the reign of Emperor Augustus was found.

Slingshot feature inscriptions by the Roman legions that made them.

The Rhaetians, or Raeti, were a confederation of tribes that lived in the Alpine regions of what are now Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany. They opposed Roman occupation, fighting a series of battles against the invaders in the first century B.C.E. The clash near the gorge probably took place around 15 B.C.E., when Roman Emperor Augustus ordered a military campaign. The historic encounter occurred near the Crap Ses Gorge in southeastern Switzerland around 15 B.C.E. Soldiers from the 3rd, 10th, and 12th legions were led by Augustus's stepsons, Tiberius and Drusus. The Roman victory integrated the region into the empire as part of the new province of Raetia, a territory Rome held for the next 400 years.

World's oldest gold coins

One of the world’s oldest coins was sold in Germany for over over $380k. Issued between 600 and 625 B.C., the coin is unique because of the stamp of Phanes. The exact identity of Phanes remains unknown. “I am the badge of Phanes” is one of the translations. The words can also be translated as “I am the tomb of light.” Since Phanes was the god of light, and also the word for light, the ancient words can be interpreted in different ways.

There are four examples of these types of coins. Known as Staters of Phanes, the denomination is one stater. Denominations began at 1/96, and went up to one stater. There were seven total denominations. Only the two highest had the Phanes stamp. The coins are made of electrum, an naturally occuring alloy of gold and silver.

One of the oldest coins known was discovered in Efesos, an ancient Hellenic city and prosperous trading center on the coast of Asia Minor. The 1/6 stater was made from electrum and originated in Lydia. The ancient stater was hand struck. A die with a design for the obverse (front) of the coin was placed on an anvil. A blank of metal was placed on top of the die, and a punch hammered onto the reverse. The result was a coin with an image on one side and a punch mark on the other.

Electrum Stater Of Miletos. Several Greek cities as well as the Lydian kings began minting the first coins by stamping the badge of their city into one side of a standard weight lump of electrum and various punches into the other. These were used to facilitate trade by certifying that the intrinsic value and weight of the metal was guaranteed by the issuing authority. Of these early coins, those of Miletos (600-550 BC), are probably the finest.

In 2014 a diver found what is believed to be the oldest gold coin ever discovered in Bulgaria. The ancient coin was found in shallow waters near the resort town of Sozopol on the Black Sea coast. The coin was minted in Lydia in the second half of the seventh century BC. It weighs 0.63 grams and has a denomination of 1/24 of a stater. Sozopol was founded as a colony of the Greek city state of Miletos about 611 BCE – first named Antheia, it was later known as Apollonia.

Croesus is credited with issuing the first true gold coins with a standardized purity for general circulation, along with the world's first bimetallic monetary system.

The mysterious fate of “The Apollo of Gaza”

An extremely rare bronze statue of the Greek god Apollo resurfaced in the Gaza Strip in 2014, only to be seized and vanish. A fisherman says he scooped the 500-kg statue from the sea bed, and carried it home on a donkey cart.

The Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Palestinian territory, swiftly seized it. Archaeologists haven't been able to examine the Apollo since. From what they can tell, it was cast sometime between the 5th and the 1st century BC. The discolored green-brown figure shows the youthful, athletic god standing upright on muscular legs; he has one arm outstretched, with the palm of his hand held up. He has compact, curly hair, and gazes out seriously at the world, one of his eyes apparently inlaid with a blue stone iris, the other just a vacant black slit.

The statue is unique and most experts say priceless. It's current whereabouts remains unknown.

The finder said he cut off one of the fingers to take to a metals expert, thinking it might have been made of gold. Unbeknownst to him, one of his brothers severed another finger for his own checks. This was then melted down by a jeweller. It is very rare to find a statue which is not in marble or in stone, but in metal. Virtually all were melted down to recover the valuable metal they contain. 5,000 years of history lie beneath the sands of the Gaza Strip, which was ruled at various times by ancient Egyptians, Philistines, Romans, Byzantines and crusaders.

Alexander the Great besieged the city and the Roman emperor Hadrian visited.

First Spear Centurion - Primus Pilus

Every Roman legion, which typically consisted of 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers, had a 'primuspilus' (first spear) centurion, and a 'secunduspilus' (second spear) centurion. These were the highest-ranking centurions and the most efficient and reliable officers in the army. In early episodes of 'Rome' Lucius Vorenus is a first spear centurion.

The Primus Pilus was the senior centurion of the first cohort in a Roman legion. The Primus Pilus was a career soldier and advisor to the legate. While normal cohorts were composed of five to eight centuries, the one led by the primus pilus had ten centuries, 800 men. It also had 200 staff, including cooks and clerks. The Primus Pilus was charged with protecting the legionary standard and pay-chest. The legion was largely self-supporting and among its men were specialists, such as engineers, surveyors, and architects, as well as craftsmen.

Only experienced, veteran soldiers who had moved up within the ranks would serve in the role. In modern terms the primus pilus would be a lieutenant colonel. The primus pilus was a well paid position. Only 8 officers in a full legion outranked the primus pilus.

Altar by Marcus Aurelius Cocceius Florianus, Primus Pilus of Legio X Gemina.

Evocati were veteran soldiers who voluntarily re-enlisted after an offer from their commander. Evocati were better paid and didn't perform tasks like road building.

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.

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.