The 2009 film "The Hessen Conspiracy" has a scene where Roman coins of Caligula appear as part of a treasure found in a German castle in 1946. The film is also known as "The Hessen Affair." The film stars Billy Zane as Colonel Jack Durant and Lyne Renee as Lieutenant Kathleen Nash. In 1946 Frankfurt, Germany, two American Army officers stationed at the palace of the Hesse princes accidently find large crates in the basement containing the crown jewels of the royal House of Hesse. They decide, along with others, to steal them and take them back to the United States. The film is based on real events but changed many of the details to make the characters more sympathetic. In one scene the "loot" is a pile of jewelry laying on the floor, among the jewels are copies of ancient Roman coins.

The "The Hessen Conspiracy" was also known as "The Hessen Affair." The story is about a pair of US Army officers stationed in 1946 Germany who find a large number of jewels belonging to German royalty and decide to steal them. The stars are Billy Zane and Lyne Renee as the pair. The story is based on a real incident where a Colonel Jack Durant and his girlfriend Captain (Lieutenant in the film) Nash, along with a Major Watson, were stationed at Kronberg Castle near Frankfurt. They found the crown jewels of the Hesse royal family, and decided to steal them and sell them in the United States. The three major players were court-martialed and sent to prison, but most of the jewelry was never recovered. The coins shown in the film do not figure into the plot which involves the pair selling jewels to gangsters and the inevitable double-crosses. The coins shown in one scene the film appear to be copies of a Roman coin issued by Caligula. Ancient coins had nothing to do with the Hesse theft, they are in the film only as props. Very few coins of any kind were part of the Hesse treasure, which was mostly jewelry. A German gold 10 mark coin was stolen and found in the possession of a girlfriend of one of the officers.

The coins appear to be copies of an actual Roman coin of Caligula (AD 37-41) depicting the emperor on one side and his three sisters on the other side.

This is a copy of a Roman coin of Caligula, copied from Roman Imperial Coins (RIC) Caligula 33. The sisters of Caligula are standing and bearing the attributes of various goddesses. Due to the notoriety of the emperor and the design, this coin has been copied for centuries, and copies would be readily available for use as film props.

For a personal note on this story, please visit: Coin Stories - The World War II Hessen Jewel Robbery

Billy Zane as Colonel Jack Durant
Lyne Renee as Lieutenant Kathleen Nash
Director: Paul Breuls
Writers: Nicholas Meyer, Ronald Roose