1. 4,000 Roman coins found in Switzerland

Daily Mail reports that a 4,000-piece hoard of Roman bronze coins has been found under a cherry tree in Ueken, Switzerland.

The hoard, which is thought to have been buried 1,700 years ago, Daily Mail reports, was found in July by a vegetable and fruit farmer on his land in Ueken. It is already being hailed as one of the biggest coin hoards ever found in Switzerland.

All told, 4,166 coins have been unearthed, and they are in excellent condition according to news accounts.

According to Daily Mail, the coins date back to the reign of Roman Emperor Aurelian, who was in power from AD 170 to 275, and Emperor Maximillian, who ruled from 286 to 305.

2. Fine art vs. rare coins

Coin World’s own Steve Roach compared rare coins and fine art in his latest Investment Column:

“Both markets are somewhat thinly capitalized when compared to other asset classes, both deal with often unique objects that generally have clear comparables in terms of quality, desirability and rarity, and there are relatively high transaction costs when buying or selling.”

But there certainly are also some differences.

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4. Precious metals pricing

Kitco.com listed the following prices per ounce as of 10:22 a.m. ET Tuesday:

• Gold: $1,073.50
• Silver: $14.190

5. Hot topics

Have a look at a few of the most-read stories of the last week on CoinWorld.com:

1. California coin dealer discovers fake Krugerrand in fake holder
2. Latest America the Beautiful quarter launched into circulation
3. Heritage sale containing American coin silver draws collector interest