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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marsyas Mike, post: 2860687, member: 85693&quot;]I was poking around Wikipedia articles relating to Trajan Decius and found a footnote to the Battle of Abritus that was just amazing numismatically.&nbsp; Apparently a lot of gold aureii of Trajan Decius and his predecessors (Gordian III and Philip the Arab) have been found either cut into little pieces or holed for wearing, in the vicinity of the battle site (where Trajan Decius and his son were slain).&nbsp; It appears the Imperial Treasury was captured and distributed as booty among the victorious Goths. </p><p><br /></p><p><i>The article is called </i>&quot;The Battle of Abritus, the Imperial Treasury and Aurei in Barbaricum by ALEKSANDER BURSCHE&quot; and was published in The Numismatic Chronicle, 2013</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.academia.edu/13213004/The_Battle_of_Abrittus_the_Imperial_Treasury_and_Aurei_in_Barbaricum_Numismatic_Chronicle_173_2013_s._151-170" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.academia.edu/13213004/The_Battle_of_Abrittus_the_Imperial_Treasury_and_Aurei_in_Barbaricum_Numismatic_Chronicle_173_2013_s._151-170" rel="nofollow">https://www.academia.edu/13213004/The_Battle_of_Abrittus_the_Imperial_Treasury_and_Aurei_in_Barbaricum_Numismatic_Chronicle_173_2013_s._151-170</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Here is the article&#039;s abstract (to whet your appetite):</p><p><br /></p><p><i>&quot;Abtract: From the region between the southern Baltic seaboard and Ukraine, territory of Gothic culture settlement, we have records of a great many aurei of Trajan Decius and his immediate predecessors. The early years of the 21st century have witnessed a considerable increase in these finds, the result of widespread amateur metal detector use. In contrast, elsewhere in Barbaricum the same issues are very seldom recorded. All the aurei are pierced above the head of the emperor and some were deliberately chopped into fragments prior to deposition. This treatment of gold coins is not noted elsewhere in Barbaricum or within the Roman Empire. The coins described here are quite certain to be the remains of plunder taken&nbsp; by Goths after their defeat of the Romans at Abritus in AD 251. It is very likely that the entire imperial treasury was captured by the Gothic troops. This is because the Augustus himself and his son, Herennius Etruscus, were killed in that battle. The capture of so many tonnes of gold by the barbarians may be the direct cause of the deterioration in the quality of the aureus under the successors of Trajan Decius. The chopping of the coins into fragments prior to their deposition, that is, a <i>de facto destruction of the enemy’s portrait and annihilation of his&nbsp; power, shows that they must have been a part of the plunder. The destruction of booty taken from defeated enemies is a typically Germanic custom, attested also by the bog deposits of northern Europe.&quot;</i></i></p><p><br /></p><p>Information about ancient coins regarding specific usage just fascinates me and I thought a few of you might be interested.&nbsp; What is extra cool is the first hoard was discovered by German troops digging emplacements for an airfield in Poland, 1941.&nbsp; Make sure you go to the end of the article for the plate coins.&nbsp; Cool stuff!</p><p><br /></p><p>It is a very interesting article, and very informative, although I am not&nbsp; entirely convinced by Mr. Bursche&#039;s argument that the chopping up aurei was solely because the Goths were destroying enemy portraits - why so many holed coins that were probably worn as ornament (the holes carefully missing the portraits)?&nbsp; I would tend to favor the idea that gold coins were chopped up to make change the way 8 reales or longcross pennies were.&nbsp; But I&#039;m no archaeologist...</p><p><br /></p><p>Unfortunately I do not have any Trajan Decius gold to share with you, but here is a&nbsp; heavy (5.39 grams) antoninianus with a historically ironical VICTORY reverse and a portrait that looks understandably worried:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]681086[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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