Researchers discovered the stash in Notion, an 80-acre fortified city that was occupied from about the sixth century BC to the first century AD. “No one ever buries a hoard of coins, especially precious metal coins, without intending to retrieve it. One gold coin would have been the equivalent of a month’s salary for a mercenary soldier, according to the University of Michigan. Those were known as Persian silver sigloi, 20 of which would equate to one gold coin. Because of the gold coin’s high value, “it was far more efficient to store wealth in gold coins than in silver,” he added.

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Persons: ”, Christopher Ratté, “, Alexander the, Persian King Darius, Peter van Alfen, ” van Alfen, Ratté, van Alfen, Herodotus Organizations: CNN, University of Michigan, American Numismatic Society, Spartan Locations: Turkey, Persian, Persia