The interim manager of the Brukenthal National Museum, Alexandru Constantin Chituță, said: “For the history of Transylvania and Romania in particular, but also for the history of Europe in general if these results are accepted by the scientific community they will mean the addition of another important historical figure in our history.” 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.” High magnification microscopic analysis performed there, following the research on the coin at The Hunterian, has revealed similar evidence of authenticity.Ĭurator of Numismatics at The Hunterian, Jesper Ericsson, said: “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. Another is in Brukenthal National Museum in Sibiu, Romania. Only four coins featuring Sponsian are known to have survived to the present day, all apparently originally from the 1713 hoard. The research team used powerful microscopes in visible and ultraviolet light, as well as scanning electron microscopy and spectroscopy – studying how light at different wavelengths is absorbed or reflected – to study the coins’ surface. The new study is the first time scientific analysis has been undertaken on any of the Sponsian coins. This has been the accepted view until now. Coins from the hoard were dismissed as fakes because of the way they looked. However, from the mid-19th century, attitudes changed. When the coins were discovered in the early 18th century, they were thought to be genuine and classed alongside other imitations of Roman coins made beyond the fringes of the empire. Recognizing this and unable to receive official issues from the mint in Rome, Sponsian seems to have authorized the creation of locally produced coins, some featuring an image of his face, to support a functioning economy in his isolated frontier territory. Surrounded by enemies, Sponsian may have been a local army officer forced to assume supreme command during a period of chaos and civil war, protecting the military and civilian population of Dacia until order was restored, and the province evacuated between 271 and 275 CE.Ĭoinage has always been an important symbol of power and authority. Archaeological studies have established that the area was cut off from the rest of the Roman empire in around 260 CE. The Roman province of Dacia, a territory overlapping with modern-day Romania, was a region prized for its gold mines. 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.” Pearson (UCL Earth Sciences) said: “Scientific analysis of these ultra-rare coins rescues the emperor Sponsian from obscurity. The team also found a pattern of wear and tear that suggested the coin had been in active circulation. These minerals were cemented in place by silica – cementing that would naturally occur over a long time in soil. Credit: Pearson et al., 2022, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 They found minerals on the coin’s surface that were consistent with it being buried in soil over a long period of time and then exposed to air. Coin of the ‘emperor’ Sponsian, currently in The Hunterian, University of Glasgow, UK, catalog number GLAHM:40333 (reproduced from Ref.
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