What eventually became the Roman Empire began as settlements around the Palatine Hill along the river Tiber in Central Italy. The river was navigable up to that place. The site also had a ford where the Tiber could be crossed. The Palatine Hill and hills surrounding it presented easily defensible positions in the wide fertile plain surrounding them. All these features contributed to the success of the city.

The traditional account of Roman history, which has come down to us through Livy, Plutarch, Dionysius of Halicarnassus and others, is that in Rome’s first centuries, it was ruled by a succession of seven kings. Archaeological evidence does, however, support that a settlement was founded in Rome around the middle of the 8th century BC.

According to legend, the foundation of Rome took place 438 years after the capture of Troy (1182 BC), according to Velleius Paterculus (VIII, 5). It took place shortly before an eclipse of the sun; some have identified this eclipse as one observed at Rome on June 25, 745 BC.

The traditional date for the founding of Rome, based on a mythological account, is April 21, 753 BC, and the city and surrounding region of Latium has continued to be inhabited with little interruption since around that time. (more…)

LANDMARK SALE OF RARE POLISH COINS TO BE HELD BY STACK’S IN CHICAGO, APRIL 24

NEW YORK – On January 14, a Polish 1621 gold 100 Ducat coin sold for $1.38 Million, setting a world’s record price for a non-U.S. coin. Sold by Stack’s, one of the oldest and most successful rare coin Auction Houses in the U.S., in its Kroisos Collection Sale, the coin was struck to commemorate Poland’s victory over the Ottoman Turks in the famed Battle of Chocim.

Now, Stack’s is set to sell one of the most important collections of rare Polish coins to be offered in public auction in the U.S. To be sold April 24, 2008 in Chicago, the Belzberg Collection of Select Polish Rarities is valued at several million dollars. And bidding is expected to be intense for, along with Russian coins, Polish coins rank as the hottest item in the world numismatic market today.

The sale, though, does not just present an offering of rare and unique coins, it is also a numismatic chronicle of the history of the Polish nation. Beginning with the first Polish coin ever struck, a Silver Denar of Mieszko I Piast (960-992) the sale runs up the timeline to a unique and colossal Gold Million Z?otych – all 12 ounces of it –struck by the private Solidarity mint in 1999 to honor Fryderyk Chopin. Among the many highlights of the sale are a Gold 50 Ducat and a unique Silver 10 Talary – the largest Silver coin ever struck in Poland, both made as presentation pieces to mark the Battle of Chocim (one of the 100 Ducat coins of 1621 was presented by Sigismund III Vasa to the Pope). Polish cities and ducal fiefdoms are also represented by coins from Danzig, Toru?, Courland, Stettin and other Silesian and Pomeranian locales. Lithuanian coins from the time of the Commonwealth include a 16th Century Silver coin of Naples sent to Poland as part of the inheritance of Sigismund II August from his mother Bona Sforza that was stamped to pay Sigismund the Second’s troops fighting in the Livonian War.

Of true historic note is a majestic Presentation Set of 24 Silver Medals of the Polish kings (from Bo?eslaw I Chobry to Poniatowski) commissioned in the 1790’s by King Stanis?aw August Poniatowski. The set was presented in 1814 to Henry Brougham, an English lawyer, journalist and abolitionist by Poles in Exile for his service in pleading the cause of the Polish people (Brougham later served as the British Lord Chancellor).

For further information, please contact Gregory Cole, Stack’s World Coin Department, at 212-582-2580.

By Laura Sperber - Legend Numismatics

Whew, what a show! It by far blew away our expectations. The show itself did the trick, as many collectors appeared, not just the locals, to shop and BUY the coins they needed. Even though GOLD is strong, generics or that area did not drive this show. This is one of the few major shows we have attended in the past year where BOTH retail and WHOLESALE were strong for us.

The attendance of both dealers and collectors was far greater than what we had anticipated. Even PNG day was active. Part of why also may have been the fact there were no major shows in the past 3 weeks (which does seem like an eternity). Most important, everyone’s attitude was upbeat and no one complained about the timing of the show (it wasn’t on top of a show, no religious holiday, tax time was over, etc).

As with all the shows this year, this show was especially dry of great coins. Sure, there was lots dreck around, BUT (big BUT) it seems more collectors were willing to step up and pay strong for real quality. People are appreciating great coins again and they clearly are rising to the values they deserve to be at.

We saw many collectors complain about their hunger for coins. You can’t go out and buy GEM Bust material, great Type, or even something like a GEM better date and higher grade Peace Dollar. There was one dealer we know who was trying to buy for the 5 GEM Morgan sets and who knows how many GEM Saint Saints he is building. We also saw someone who represented a substantial investor trying to spend a few million (yes million) but were totally stymied by lack of coins. Then there were the smaller collectors who always buy a coin or two at a major show telling us they couldn’t find anything. Mark our words prices WILL rise soon.

The CAC market is super strong. We have already seen clear-cut extreme demand and in just about very case, prices are at serious premiums. Every dealer we spoke to who handles CAC told us they sold most of what they had in the beginning of the show. The skeptics and boo birds who tried their best to hurt CAC now are clearly seeing it is a true force in the market and is unquestionably growing each day. (more…)

By David McEwen for NZCity

Conditions still favour gold. Gold prices rose over recent weeks as record oil prices and continued weakness in the dollar encouraged investors to buy into bullion. With crude prices touching an all time record, gold’s role as a hedge against rising inflation has seen the precious metal move higher.

Prices are also taking support from the US dollar’s ongoing slump, with investors using gold as an alternative to the most common form of currency reserves.

US commentator, Adrian Ash says you can link the historic surge in gold prices starting mid-August 2007 to many apparently disparate things. Pick the right link, and you might be able to tell whether it’s worth you buying or holding gold today.

One such link, he says, is the price of money, as decided by the US Federal Reserve. “Gold’s stellar 58% gain in the seven months starting 18th August began with the Fed’s first change to US interest rates in 18 months. Last August’s 0.25% cut to the Fed’s “discount rate” – the interest rate it charges commercial banks to borrow short-term funds – was the Fed’s first interest-rate cut since July 2003. By the end of March 2008, it became a 3% cut to the bank’s key Fed Funds target.”

And gold’s initial jump turned into a pole vault. The real cost of borrowing US dollars – or rather, the real returns paid to anyone saving money today – clearly impacts the demand for investment gold. You can measure this real rate of interest quite simply, says Ash. “Just subtract the rate of Consumer Price inflation (CPI) from the Fed Funds interest rate, then compare this changing value to the price of gold, and you’ll see that when the real returns paid to cash sink below zero, investors and savers tend to pay more – or demand more – for gold.”

That’s what investors and savers did in the 1970s. It’s what they then did not do again until real US interest rates sank towards and below zero during the first six years of this decade. Why choose gold when real interest rates sink? Because if central bankers, driven by a fear of “deflation” in asset prices and consumer spending, try to stop the public hoarding cash, then people will seek out reliable stores of value instead, led by hard assets. (more…)