Most Valuable Ancient Coins Ever Sold: Rare Roman, Greek, and Gold Collectible Coins

The Most Expensive Ancient Coins Ever Sold

Ancient coins are one of the few things in the world that truly last. They don’t fade, rot, or fall apart like old paper or stamps. Even after thousands of years, many are still around, still sharp, still real. Holding one feels different. You’re not just touching metal. You’re touching time.

Some ancient coins are actually affordable. But the rarest ones? The top-tier? They’ve been sold for millions. These aren’t your average coins from a random market. These are museum-quality pieces, made before the Western Roman Empire collapsed in the late 400s CE.

Let’s look at the most valuable ancient coins ever sold.

 

Stater of Panticapaeum, 340 to 325 BCE - Sold for $6 million

This is the most expensive ancient coin ever sold. It changed hands in May 2023 for a massive six million dollars. And yes, it did once sit in a museum. The Hermitage Museum in Russia owned it until 1934, when Stalin decided to sell off major state treasures to raise funds for industrial projects. This coin was one of them.

It ended up in France with Charles Gillet, from the family that owned Rhône-Poulenc, a major chemical company. Now it’s in another private collection.

This coin was minted in Panticapaeum, an ancient Greek city in Crimea. The region is part of Ukraine, but it’s under Russian control now. The coin features a satyr, a mythical figure known for being wild and chaotic. It’s a gold stater, which back then could be worth over twenty silver drachmae. The stater was a high-value coin, and this one was made by a skilled artist. The quality is near perfect. No other example quite like it is known, so it may be one of a kind.

 

Aureus of Marcus Junius Brutus, 42 BCE - Sold for $4.17 million

This coin is famous for all the wrong reasons. It was made by Brutus, the man who helped assassinate Julius Caesar. The sale price hit $4,174,950 in October 2020. The design and the story behind it make it one of the most iconic coins ever minted.

After Caesar’s murder on the Ides of March, Brutus used this coin to show off. He wasn’t hiding from what he did. He was proud of it. The coin was part of his political push to take Caesar’s place. But things didn’t go his way. A civil war broke out soon after, and Brutus took his own life not long after.

The coin is known as the “Ides of March” coin. Most of them were silver, but a few were struck in gold. About 85 versions survive today, mostly in museums. This gold one was part of that group until 2020, when it was sold at auction. Later, it was proven to have been looted and illegally taken from Greece, so it was returned to its country of origin.

 

Decadrachm of Agrigentum, 409 to 406 BCE - Sold for $2.9 million

Agrigentum was a powerful Greek city in Sicily. Today it’s called Agrigento. Back then, it stood on the edge of Greek influence in Italy and minted its own money. This coin is a decadrachm, which was the highest-value silver coin in the Greek system. It was worth ten drachmae and weighed around 43 grams of silver.

This specific coin sold at auction in October 2012 for just under $3 million. Fewer than ten examples of this coin are known to exist. When it sold, it gave people a sense of how the market valued rare ancient coins. It had sold before, setting records along the way. In 1990, it brought in $572,000, making it the most expensive Greek coin and also the top-selling non-US coin at the time. It had already sold privately in 1980 for a reported $1 million.

While its title has changed over time, it still holds the record as the most valuable Greek silver coin. Some experts think it was made to honor a chariot victory during the 92nd Olympic Games in 412 BCE. Others link it to the Carthaginian invasion of Sicily in 406 BCE. Either way, it's a rare and stunning coin, designed to show off the wealth and status of Agrigentum.

 

Second Aureus of Marcus Junius Brutus, 42 BCE - Sold for $2 million

This is another gold coin minted by Brutus, the same man who helped kill Julius Caesar. The back of this coin shows a soldier with loot, a clear message meant to attract followers. Brutus wanted people to see the rewards of siding with him.

It sold in Geneva in December 2024 for about $2 million. That was €1.9 million at the time. It’s one of only 17 known examples of this version in gold. The coin shows more than Brutus’s ego. It reveals how he kept support through gifts, money, and coins like this. These were tools of power, not just currency.

The sale proved there’s still strong demand for ancient coins with real historical weight.

 

Sestertius of Hadrian, 135 to 136 CE - Sold for $1.65 million

This coin shows a portrait of Emperor Hadrian. When it sold in December 2008, it went for over $1.6 million. People called it the most beautiful Roman coin ever made. That praise was tied to both the detail and the condition of the image.

Sestertii started out as silver coins under the Roman Republic. But by the time of the Empire, they were made of brass. They were big coins, which gave engravers a large space to work with. This gave room for high-quality designs.

The artist behind this one was probably Antoninianos of Aphrodisias. His work on this coin made it stand out. It wasn’t a high-value coin when it was made, but the artistry and age pushed it to the top of the market. The combination of design, history, and rarity made it worth every cent.

 

AR Shekel of Arwad, 66 to 70 CE - Sold for $1.1 million

This silver shekel dates back to the time of the Jewish War, around 66 to 70 CE. It was likely struck in Jerusalem as a prototype for Jewish currency, though it carries the name of Arwad, a small island city just off the coast of present-day Syria. Back then, Arwad was under Roman control.

The coin’s design is detailed and intricate, but that style never made it to full production. That makes this piece extremely rare. Only two are known to exist. One is in a museum in Jerusalem. The other is the one that sold at auction in March 2012 for over $1.1 million.

It wasn’t just rare. It was also in excellent condition, and the artwork on the coin is complex and refined. All those factors combined to push its value far above what most ancient coins ever reach.

 

Jin Dynasty Tianjuan Tongbao - Valued at $597,000

This ancient Chinese coin comes from the Jin Dynasty, which ruled parts of China from 226 to 420 CE. During this time, the cash coin became standard. These coins were round with a square hole in the center and carried four Chinese characters on the front. The hole made it easier to carry coins on a string.

The Tianjuan Tongbao is especially valuable because it’s one of the oldest known Chinese coins. Most coins from this era didn’t survive. Over centuries, many were melted down, lost, or damaged.

As of 2011, this rare coin was valued at $597,000. Its age, historical significance, and the survival of such a fragile item make it one of the most sought-after ancient Chinese coins in existence.