In 1713 a hoard of ancient Roman gold aurei coins was unearthed in the Transylvania region of what is now Romania. In about 260 A.D., at the suggested time of their burial this was Roman Dacia. The find contained what has been described as “coin types copying or basing themselves on Republican and Roman Imperial coins.”
According to a Nov. 24, 2022 Science Alert internet posting, “[The] coins had been declared poor forgeries in the mid-19th century by the leading expert at the time, a man named Henry Cohen, due to many irregularities. They differ in manufacture and style to authentic coins of their period, for example, vary considerably in weight, have mixed up motifs and messed up inscriptions.”
The posting continues, “Imitations of Roman coins were made outside of the empire at the time, and again during the Renaissance period as clearly fake trinkets. Later, more realistic forgeries were produced with simulated wear intended to trick wealthy coin collector. The weight of the gold in the 1713 collection exceeds US$20,000 in modern value.”
Among this jumble of coins were at least four examples on which the name Sponsian appears in the obverse legend. No such Roman emperor or usurper is known of this name. The coins were condemned as fakes and dumped into the dustbin of history—until now.
On November 23 the journal “Plos One” published a recent study by University College London and the University of Glasgow researchers suggesting the Sponsian coins are genuine artifacts of some Roman leader whose name has been lost to history.
According to the researchers, based on their wear the four Sponsian coins studied appear to have circulated. Using microscopes in visible and ultraviolet light, scanning electron microscopy, and spectroscopy the researchers determined the coins were genuine rather than fakes.
UCL’s Earth Sciences Department research associate Paul N. Pearson said, “Scientific analysis of these ultra-rare coins rescues the Emperor Sponsian from obscurity. Our evidence suggests he ruled Roman Dacia, an isolated gold mining outpost, at a time when the empire was beset by civil wars
