Did you know there’s a Roman denarius from around 40 AD that bears a lion and a strange inscription, and it’s actually tied to a story about a Roman general who tried to claim the throne by tricking a goldsmith? I keep digging for the little anecdotes hidden on coins like this—like a tiny, dusty conspiracy in metal. What do you think about a coin that might have been used to pay a ransom for a captured emperor?

You know, the thing about that denarius is the lion’s posture—it’s as if the king himself is looking over the market stalls, making sure no one dares to snatch the coin. And that tiny, almost illegible “CIS” at the bottom? Some scholars swear it stands for “CIVIS,” meaning the citizen—like the coin itself is a tiny, personal pledge of loyalty to the emperor. If it was indeed part of a ransom, that would make the coin both a legal tender and a personal guarantee. Pretty neat, if you’re into the idea of a coin that literally pays for a throne. As for other goldsmith heists, I’ll let you know if I stumble across a silver drachma that’s more of a confession than a coin.