AN historic tale of incest, murder and cannibalism is being revealed at a Warwickshire museum this summer.

The amazing story is told on coins found at sites across the county and is now on display at the museum, in Warwick town centre.

Dating from as early as the 1st Century BC, the cash includes Greek and Roman coins brought back by Sir Roger Newdigate of Arbury Hall, Nuneaton from his grand tour of Europe in the 18th Century.

Dr Stanley Ireland, of the University of Warwick and the museum's former honorary numismatist, then late Wilfred Seaby catalogued the coins.

One tells the story of the insane Roman Emperor Caligula who, believing he was the son of a god, had incestuous relations with his sisters, murdered and then ate the offspring.

He was later assassinated after getting on the wrong side of the government.

Dr Ireland said: "Some of the so-called Roman coins are actually fakes created in the 17th Century and every bit as fascinating as the real thing.

"One Roman coin which shows Caligula on one side, and his sisters on the other is in fact a story of incest, murder and cannibalism.

"It is one of the renaissance copies, but it is an extremely good one. In fact, after Caligula was killed his coins were called in.

"If you fell foul of the government name removed from monuments and coins taken in.

"So what was left is in fact extremely rare. They were either coins that were lost or deliberately buried. They had gone out of circulation."