Richard Beale, the director of London-based auction house Roma Numismatics, has pleaded guilty to a series of charges related to unlawful sales of rare ancient coins in a
New York court. Beale, who was the focus of a BBC investigation, confessed to two counts of conspiracy and three counts of criminal possession of stolen property, according to court documents.
The charges were related to the falsification of the provenance of valuable coins. These included the gold Eid Mar coin, which was sold for $4.19 million (£3.29 million) in 2020, and an ancient silver Sicily Naxos Coin that fetched $292,000 during the same auction. Beale also admitted altering the provenance of several silver Alexander the Great decadrachms from the "Gaza Hoard," which was exposed by a BBC News Arabic documentary in 2020.
The documentary detailed the discovery of ancient coins by fishermen in Palestinian territory, dating back to the 4th Century BC. Subsequently, these coins mysteriously disappeared, raising concerns about their origin and legality.
Before the discovery in Gaza, only 20 Alexander decadrachms were known to exist. After the coins were found, they began appearing for sale at various auction houses around the world.
Beale's fraudulent actions came to light during the investigation. Despite being approached by the BBC in 2019 regarding the provenances of the decadrachms listed on Roma Numismatics' auction site, Beale continued to sell these coins with fabricated provenances.
Appearing before the New York Supreme Criminal Court, Beale admitted to knowingly using false provenances for the coins and selling them while concealing their true origin. He also confessed to an agreement to sell the Eid Mar coin in 2015 without proper documentation. This coin, commemorating Julius Caesar's assassination, was later listed for sale with false provenance.
Judge Althea Drysdale characterized Beale's actions as "woefully wrong and illegal," causing harm to both buyers and nations whose cultural property was unlawfully acquired. The maximum sentence for these crimes is 25 years in prison, potentially reduced under a plea agreement. Beale's next court appearance is scheduled for March.
The unlawfully sold coins, including the Eid Mar and Sicily Naxos coins, have been seized by US authorities and returned to their countries of origin, Greece and Italy, earlier this year. Photo by Geni, Wikimedia commons.