Archaeologists from the University of Michigan have made a remarkable discovery in the ancient city-state of Notion, located in modern-day Turkey. A cache of gold coins, known as darics, was found buried beneath the ruins of a house dating back to the third century B.C. The coins, each equivalent to a month's pay, were likely the savings of a mercenary soldier. This find is significant as it sheds light on the use of darics as payment for soldiers of fortune and provides insight into the Achaemenid gold coinage chronology. Notion, situated in western Anatolia, was a Greek-speaking community and a strategic frontier zone during a time of warfare and great power struggles. The discovery of the hoard is believed to be linked to this period of instability, possibly connected to events such as the Athenian attack on pro-Persian mercenaries or the naval battle in the Peloponnesian War. The hoard's burial and subsequent abandonment suggest a grave misfortune that prevented its retrieval. The darics, bearing the likeness of the Persian king, were part of the Achaemenid monetary system and were in circulation until the conquest of Alexander the Great. The hoard, along with imported Athenian pottery, is now housed at the Ephesus Archaeological Museum in Turkey. This find provides valuable insights into the historical and economic context of ancient Notion and the wider region of Anatolia.