I had the same thought, but in a different direction. They ended up just recycling most of these 800,000 nails. Seems like today this would be worth a couple million as souvenirs.
They did sell some as souvenirs for 5 shillings a piece (about 5 GBP today?) according to Wikipedia, but there's a limited quantity of people with an interest in buying ancient Roman nails at that price. They're not the most dazzling display piece.
Note also that they would have recycled most of them in the old days as well, and that's where much of the value would come from.
a_shovel|9 months ago
Note also that they would have recycled most of them in the old days as well, and that's where much of the value would come from.