A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Good morning. I'm A Martinez.

A priceless Roman mosaic that once decorated a Roman emperor's ship went 50 years as a New York woman's coffee table. An expert recognized the piece when he gave a lecture and signed copies of his book, which had photos of the mosaic. A woman bought a copy and saw where she's been putting her morning cup of coffee. She said she bought the mosaic from an Italian noble family in the '60s. I really hope she's been using a coaster.

It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.