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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Nefarius Purpus, post: 6587493, member: 116505&quot;]Great write-up Ocatarinetabellatchitchix!</p><p><br /></p><p>There is actually another published Sponsian from: </p><p>Campbell, I., ‘A Sponsian re-discovered’ in <i>The Numismatic Chronicle</i>, 157 (1997), p. 194-196. [ATTACH=full]1264749[/ATTACH]</p><p>The above coin is obviously not a legitimate imperial issue but I for one do not see how anyone can determine if it is a &#039;modern&#039; (300-year old) forgery, or ancient, except perhaps by metallurgical analysis. So the question remains open.</p><p><br /></p><p>It is in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow and... drum roll... I have arranged for it to be re-photographed in all its dubious colourful glory just as soon as the pandemic allows! The collection also has some of the barbarous Philip / Gordian aurei that were alledgedly found with it, so hopefully we can image them too. I hope we can post something on the museum website and copy here. I think there are some questions that can still be asked that we may be able to answer...</p><p><br /></p><p>(If anyone can think of more please add...)</p><p><br /></p><p>Are the barbarous Philip / Gordian coins similar to other ancient barbarous coins or apparently of more recent manufacture?</p><p><br /></p><p>The above coin appears to be cast rather than struck, so can that be confirmed by careful examination? </p><p><br /></p><p>Perhaps the weird Augurinus reverse was impressed into a mould using a Republican denarius. Will need to check the dimensions to see if this idea works? </p><p><br /></p><p>The weight is just over 10g which is x2 and a bit for a normal aureus of the period so the denomination appears to be a double aureus, hence the radiate crown. These were not issued by Philip or Gordian, as far as I know, but did become regular with Postumus and Aurelian so perhaps the date is nearer 260 than 248/250 as has been suggested. If &#039;real&#039; of course,</p><p><br /></p><p>One curious thing to add to the mystery, which seems not to have been mentioned so far, is that comparing images there seems to have been at least two obverse and two reverse &#039;dies&#039; (or casts). In other words, if somebody faked them a few hundred years ago, they went to the trouble of making multiple casts, including of the weird Augurinus reverse, potentially using two (or more) Republican denarii of same type!!</p><p><br /></p><p>To be fair, the coins circulated for a tidy sum at the time, so it may have been worthwhile being elaborate in the fakery. But at the same time, it seems very odd that the faker made up a very obscure name and deliberately made a design that bears little similarity to any other coin of the period and is deeply paradoxical in and of itself. If that was all intended to bamboozle, then fair play, it was an exceedingly cunning plan.</p><p><br /></p><p>Or, if they are &#039;real&#039; then the manufacturor made at least two original dies based on a fairly obscure Republican design. Why?</p><p><br /></p><p>Nobody has explained the Augurinus reverse but here&#039;s a wild theory. Start with the obverse inscription which is strange, being just IMP SPONSIAN on one&nbsp; side of the bust. The normal expectation of the period would be IMP[ERATOR] C[AESAR] SPONSIANVS P[IVS] F[ELIX] AVG[VSTVS] or similar. But taken together the two sides read IMP SPONSIAN C AVG. What if - and I admit this is far fetched - but what if to assume imperium (military commander-in-chief) was not a capital crime for a Roman general in extremis (e.g. if cut off from communication with the centre in Dacia by intervening rebellious regimes) but claiming to be caesar augustus was. Everyone would have assumed that the reverse meant C[AESAR] AVG[VSTVS] but actually it stands for C[AIVS] AVG[VRINVS], so no capital crime has been committed. </p><p><br /></p><p>Your honour.</p><p><br /></p><p>Well, I said it was far fetched. Can anyone do better?</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, hope to update as soon as more information is available.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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