Not only do we hope that this encourages further debate about Sponsian as a historical figure, but also the investigation of coins relating to him held in other museums across Europe. Our evidence suggests he ruled Roman Dacia, an isolated gold mining outpost, at a time when the empire was beset by civil wars and the borderlands were overrun by plundering invaders."Ĭurator of Numismatics at The Hunterian, Jesper Ericsson, adds, "This has been a really exciting project for The Hunterian. Pearson of University College, London, adds, "Scientific analysis of these ultra-rare coins rescues the emperor Sponsian from obscurity. Together, the new evidence strongly suggests the coins are authentic.Ĭonsidering the historical record alongside the new evidence from the coins, the researchers suggest that Sponsian was an army commander in the Roman Province of Dacia during a period of military strife in the 260s CE. Put a spin to any outfit by ordering fake roman coins. The researchers also analyzed earthen deposits on the coins, finding evidence that after extensive circulation, the coins were buried for a prolonged period before being exhumed. offers a vast selection of fashion-toward fake roman coins to accentuate plain outfits. The analysis revealed deep micro-abrasion patterns typically associated with coins that were in circulation for an extensive period of time. Credit: The Hunterian, University of Glasgow. Sponsian gold coin, c.260-c.270 CE (obverse). They applied visible light microscopy, ultra-violet imaging, scanning electron microscopy, and reflection mode Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy to the four coins and, for comparison, two undoubtedly authentic Roman gold coins. To further investigate the Transylvanian coins' authenticity, Pearson and colleagues conducted a deeper assessment of the physical characteristics of four of the coins, including the Sponsian coin. Additionally, in 1713, "Sponsian" was not yet known to be a name that had ever existed in ancient Rome. However, the coins are also uncharacteristic of the forgeries that would have been of interest to past collectors. While the Transylvanian coins follow the general style of mid-third century Roman coins, they diverge in certain stylistic characteristics and in how they were manufactured, leading many experts to dismiss them as forgeries created to sell to collectors. In 1713, a group of such coins was allegedly discovered in Transylvania, some of them featuring a portrait labeled with the name "Sponsian," although there are no other historical records that a Roman emperor named Sponsian ever existed. ![]() Our reproduction and replica Roman coins include As, Aureus, Denarius, Dupondius, Sestertius and Solidus.For much of ancient Roman history, Roman mints produced coins featuring portraits of current emperors. This trend continued to the end of the Empire in the West. After the reforms Roman coinage consisted mainly of the gold solidus and small bronze denominations. They were still accepted as payment in Greek influenced territories, even though these regions issued their own coinage and some silver in other denominations, either called Greek Imperial or Roman provincial coins.ĭuring the third century, the denarius was replaced by the antoninianus or radiate, which was then itself replaced during the monetary reform of Diocletian which created denominations such as the argenteus (silver) and the follis (silvered bronze). These were used from the middle of the third century BC until the middle of the third century AD. The Roman currency during most of the Roman Republic and the western half of the Roman Empire consisted of coins including the aureus, the denarius, the sestertius, the dupondius, and the as.
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