Gifts for a Roman history buff, by budget

Under 30 euro: a replica Roman coin, in the shop only

In our shop at Via Cavour 280, replica Roman coins cost €10 for the small ones, €15 bronze-coloured and €20 gold-coloured, sestertii included; the red or blue Imperivm Art case is €5 more. They are modern replicas, declared as such, and they are sold only in the shop, not online. A coin fits in a pocket, so it gets home without any planning; ask at the counter which subjects are in today.

The fourteen replicas, photographed on both sides, with their prices and what we know about each original coin →

Under 50 euro: one object, not a handful

This is the band where Roman history gifts most often go wrong. A handful of small, forgettable things looks generous on the table and is in a drawer by February. One object at 35 euro is still on the shelf three years later.

The Constantine Chi-Rho Gladius decorative replica costs 35 EUR and is the sensible choice in this range: a short sword carrying the Chi-Rho monogram Constantine put on his standards, which gives the object something to say beyond its shape. It is a decorative replica, not a functional weapon, and we prefer to say so before you buy rather than after.

Two practical notes even at this figure. Decide where the piece will go before you order, because a sword wants a stretch of free shelf or wall that not every room has spare. And avoid anything sold under 50 euro as authentic or ancient: at this price, in Rome or anywhere else, it is not.

50 to 100 euro: where most people should stop

If you want the gift to feel considered without turning into a furniture decision, stay here. The step up from 35 to 65 or 80 euro buys more presence, more visible weight and, where the description says so, a stand to put the piece on.

The SPQR Pugio with eagle pommel is 65 EUR. A Roman dagger sits on a desk the way a sword cannot, which makes it the easier gift for someone in a flat rather than a house.

At 80 EUR the Roman Centurion Helmet with steel stand is, in our judgement, the most solid choice in the band. The stand is the part that matters: a helmet lying flat on a shelf looks like a prop, the same helmet raised on steel looks like an object someone chose.

• Desk or bookshelf, limited space: the pugio.
• One Roman piece in a whole room: the helmet.
• Someone who wants to wear it at a re-enactment: neither. These are display replicas.

100 to 200 euro: faces instead of blades

Above a hundred euro the catalogue changes character. Here you can stop buying weapons and start buying people, which is usually the better gift for anyone who reads about Rome rather than fights about it.

The Julius Caesar bust is 109 EUR in bronze-effect resin. Read that wording carefully, because it is the honest part: bronze-effect resin, not cast bronze. It gives you the colour and the look of bronze at a fraction of the price of metal. Anyone selling you a 109-euro bust as solid bronze is not being straight with you.

At 149 EUR the Emperor Augustus statue reproduces the Prima Porta Augustus, again in bronze-effect resin. It is a standing figure rather than a bust, so it wants a clear shelf or a console rather than a crowded mantelpiece. Measure the height you have before you choose between the two (the statue is about 29 cm high, the Caesar bust about 19 cm): a bust goes where a statue will not.

200 to 350 euro: pieces that change a room

Past two hundred euro you are no longer buying an ornament. You are buying something that will decide how a wall or a table looks, so the recipient's space matters more than their taste.

The Roman Scutum Shield at 220 EUR is a painted legionary replica, and a shield takes over whatever wall it goes on. Check that the wall exists before ordering. In a narrow hallway it is oppressive; above a desk or along a staircase it works.

The Romans vs Egyptians chess set at 280 EUR is for someone who plays, or who has a table where it can stay out permanently. If neither is true, the money is better spent on a 149-euro statue that asks nothing of the room.

Above 500 euro, and why you should see it first

The top of the range is not a bigger version of the same idea. The Roman War Chariot at 1,300 EUR is bronze-effect resin, and it is not a piece anyone should buy from a photograph. At this level you want to see the finish under real light, walk around it and judge the scale against the space it is going into.

That is the one thing an online-only shop cannot give you. Our shop, Souvenir and Roman history- Imperium Art, is at Via Cavour 280, 00184 Rome, a five-minute walk from the Colosseum, open every day from 10:00 to 20:00. Whatever is on display the day you come in, you can look at from every side and in real light, and you can ask us about anything else you have seen on the site before you decide. If you would rather not carry a shield around the city all afternoon, buy it online through our Etsy boutique instead: shipping is free within Italy, and for other countries Etsy shows the cost before you pay.