Study confirms authenticity of ancient gold coin depicting forgotten emperor
A new study has confirmed the authenticity of an ancient Roman coin long considered fake but which researchers now believe depicts the image of a forgotten emperor.
The study, published Wednesday in PLOS ONE, says a gold coin housed at The Hunterian collection at the University of Glasgow in Scotland is in fact authentic and includes the image of the Roman emperor Sponsian.
The coin is one of a handful of coins unearthed in Transylvania, located in present-day Romania, back in 1713.
However, the coins have been considered forgeries since the mid-19th century "due to their crude, strange design features and jumbled inscriptions," the researchers say.
"Scientific analysis of these ultra-rare coins rescues the emperor Sponsian from obscurity," Paul Pearson, a professor in the department of earth sciences at University College London, which led the study, said in a news release.
"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."
The researchers say the Roman province of Dacia, which overlapped modern-day Romania, was prized for its gold mines.
Archeological studies, they say, have found that the area was cut off from the rest of the Roman Empire around 260 CE (Common Era).
Sponsian may have been a local army officer forced to assume supreme command during this period of civil war to protect the military and civilians of Dacia before the province was evacuated between 271 and 275 CE, the researchers say.
They add that Sponsian may have authorized the creation of locally produced coins, some with his face, to support the isolated economy.
For the study, the researchers used powerful microscopes and both visible and ultraviolet light to study the surface of the coins. They also compared the Sponsian coin with other Roman coins at The Hunterian.
They say minerals on the coin's surface showed it had been buried in soil for a long period and was later exposed to air. The coin also had signs of wear and tear, suggesting it was in active circulation.
"This has been a really exciting project for The Hunterian and we're delighted that our findings have inspired collaborative research with museum colleagues in Romania," said Jesper Ericsson, The Hunterian curator of numismatics or the study of currency.
"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."
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