Once believed to be ‘fake coins’ now reveal a forgotten Roman emperor!

A series of gold coins that had been assumed to be false for more than a century may really be real, per a recent research appearing in PLOS One. In the process, the coins revealed information about a Roman emperor about whom no other documents are still extant.

In 1713, coins featuring the image of a Roman emperor known as ‘Sponsian’ were discovered in Romania’s Transylvania area. The coins were previously believed to be real since it was normal for ancient Roman mints to produce coins with the likenesses of reigning leaders. However, because of how they appeared in the middle of the 19th century, they were thought to be phoney. Around the 260s CE would have been the time of Sponsian’s rule.

Scientists from University College London carried out the study. They looked at a coin with Sponsian’s likeness that is currently on display at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow and contrasted it with other Roman artefacts there. At least two of the remaining coins are believed to be genuine. With the use of strong visible and ultraviolet light microscopes, scanning electron microscopes, and spectroscopy, the researchers examined the surfaces of the coins.

The researchers discovered minerals on the coin featuring Sponsian’s visage that proved it was in fact buried for a very long period after being exposed to air. Again, a wear-and-tear pattern revealed that the currency had changed hands often, indicating that it was probably used for both buying and selling. Lead author Paul N Pearson was reported as stating, ‘Our evidence implies that (Sponsian) commanded Roman Dacia, an isolated gold mining outpost, at a period when the empire was racked by internal strife and the frontiers were invaded by plundering barbarians’.

Roman province called Dacia bordered what is now modern-day Romania. The region was reportedly shut off from the rest of the Roman empire in around 260 CE and is noted for its gold mines. Scientists hypothesised that Sponsian may have been an army officer from the region who was compelled to reign during that time of conflict. Only four of the coins from 1713 that include Sponsian’s likeness still exist today, including the one at Hunterian. In Romania’s Brukenthal National Museum, one of them is on display. After the coin’s study at the Hunterian, the Brikenthal coin underwent microscopic examination as well. The UCL statement claims that it has turned up comparable proof of legitimacy.