The first attempt to sell it was made in January 2015 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York during international monetary exhibition. Richard Beale, the head of the British auction house, allegedly showed a potential buyer, and then a US whistleblower, a photograph of a rare Roman coin he kept on his mobile phone, vaguely stating that it “came from an old Swiss collection.” According to the American agent who investigated the case, this reference to Switzerland was not accidental. This is considered a “code” commonly used in suspicious antiquities transactions.

gold coin it is included among 29 antiquities found in the US and handed over to the Department of Culture for return to Greece following action by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the New York City Homeland Security Agency. The iconography and the inscription on it refer to the Ides of March, the day of the assassination of Julius Caesar. Shown on one side brutus head and on the other, a cap of the Republic with two swords and the inscription “Eid Mar”.

OUR Dr. Georgios Kakavasdirector of the numismatic museum, explains “K” that Greece demanded his repatriation on the grounds that the coin had been minted on Greek soil in a mobile mint that Brutus established between Philippi and Kavala during the two years of war with Rome. “Philip was given the last battle in 42 BC. with the defeat of Brutus and Cassius by Octavian and Mark Antony,” says Dr. Kakavas. “Gold has been described as the ‘Holy Grail of numismatics’ due to its extreme rarity, with only three gold coins of this denomination surviving.” A silver dinar bearing the same iconography was repatriated to Greece from London on 23 June 2006.

The US gold coin seizure last month is linked to the January 10, 2023 arrest in New York of 38-year-old Richard Beal, owner and head of auction house Roma Numismatics. The case was originally covered by an extensive article on the Artnews website. According to US court documents, known “K”, the coin reportedly came into Bill’s possession in 2014 through Italo Vecchi for sale. An Italian by origin, Vecchi, according to the case file, was detained in 1992 by US customs authorities while trying to carry undeclared ancient Greek coins in his luggage. Later, he reportedly became an auction house consultant. It is not yet clear if any charges have been brought against him for the Brutus gold coin.

Greece stated this, arguing that it was cut down on Greek territory.

According to the filing, Bill allegedly admitted to a US agent that he paid for the coin to learn the origin story. A second informant, who is not named in the documents, claimed that Bill and Vecchi offered him 100,000 Swiss francs, which he refused when he refused to sign the collection story because he believed it was false. In August 2020, the coin was sent from London to New York for authentication, with Turkey listed as the country of origin on the relevant customs documents. Finally, in October of that year, it was sold at auction for $4.18 million. “K” contacted e-mailed to the British auction house, but received no response.

Case files in Patras

The auction house involved in the case has also harassed the Greek authorities in the past. In October 2016, his name was mentioned in the Patras security document without the name of its owner, in the context of the dismantling of the polynomial ring of antiquities. Two years later, the Patras Board of Appeal issued a 2,546-page ruling ordering the transfer of 47 defendants to trial. The relevant documents analyze the path of ancient objects (mainly coins) from their illegal excavation to their sale, the suspicious role of foreign auction houses in laundering antiquities, as well as the methods of manipulating electronic auctions with the help of virtual “hits”. However, at that time, no relevant criminal proceedings were initiated against representatives of the international houses, since it was considered that there was not enough evidence of guilt.

Phone conversation

The will describes the process of the sale of an ancient Corinthian-cut silver stater by the British House. Specific coin dated 500-480 BC BC, weighing 8.65 grams and 19 millimeters in diameter, with the image of Pegasus on one side, was allegedly taken out of Greece through illegal excavations. It was sold for as low as €1,500 and appeared at auction in September 2016 with a starting price of £8,000. The description of the catalog indicates that the coin comes from a collection before 1920. According to the case file, in a telephone conversation with the Greek defendant, according to the case file, there is also a mention of a specific coin and its auction. The case was due to be heard at first instance in October 2020, but after a series of delays, it is unexpectedly expected to start in June 2023.