My friend and I were in Rome last month and stayed at the Boscola Excedra in the Monti neighborhood. In wandering around late at night within 10 minutes of the hotel itself, we passed a dark closed store that had a window display of small metal Roman figures - almost like gladiators. My friend was entranced but of course we didn't note the store name (hello Prosecco overload!) and never could find it the next day. I really want to purchase these for him. I've tried the Marriott concierge, Target maitre d (general area), Google Earth. I thought maybe someone in that vicinity right now or someone familiar with it might be able to help me locate the store. Never saw another one like it. Long shot but thanks!
You might be able to surprise your friend with an eBay find... try typing "metal roman figurines".
Try posting on the TripAdvisor forum specifically for Rome. Lots of Roman residents frequent it: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g187791-i22-Rome_Lazio.html
Thanks a million to both of you. Great suggestions. This guy is hard to buy for so I'm hoping I can do this for him