Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
 |
| Sponsian Gold Coin Find. Source: See msn.com link below. |
Today I'm going to discuss some ways you can inspect and learn more about finds. I'll refer to a study of a coin that raised important questions. It seemed to show an emperor who was not known from written historical records.
The Sponsian coin (shown above) was found over 300 years ago in 1713 in Transylvania, or present-day Romania. Sponsian has barely a footprint in history and was deemed fictional by historians long ago, Pearson said.
According to Pearson and his team of researchers, the coins contain elements that match authentic Roman coins, suggesting Sponsian was a real emperor after all.
"We know absolutely nothing about the emperor Sponsian from any sort of historical record," said Pearson. "The only evidence that someone of that name ever existed is the coins, which bear his image and name and title."
Here is that link: For years, experts said a Roman emperor wasn't real. Scientists say a coin could prove otherwise. (msn.com)
So it was originally thought that the Sponsian coin was a fake because they didn't know about an emperor, and a study was conducted to try to determine if the coin was indeed a fake or not. The report of that study was published under the title, Authenticating Coins of the Roman Emperor Sponsian. Here is the link to that study: Authenticating coins of the ‘Roman emperor’ Sponsian | PLOS ONE. And immediately below is the abstract of the study.
The ‘Roman emperor’ Sponsian is known only from an assemblage of coins allegedly found in Transylvania (Romania) in 1713. They are very unlike regular Roman coins in style and manufacture, with various enigmatic features including bungled legends and historically mixed motifs and have long been dismissed as poorly made forgeries. Here we present non-destructive imaging and spectroscopic results that show features indicative of authenticity. Deep micro-abrasion patterns suggest extensive circulation-wear. Superficial patches of soil minerals bound by authigenic cement and overlain by oxidation products indicate a history of prolonged burial then exhumation. These observations force a re-evaluation of Sponsian as a historical personage. Combining evidence from the coins with the historical record, we suggest he was most likely an army commander in the isolated Roman Province of Dacia during the military crisis of the 260s CE, and that his crudely manufactured coins supported a functioning monetary economy that persisted locally for an appreciable period.So when the coins were studied carefully, using a variety of technologies, evidence was uncovered to suggest the coins authenticity. Some of the techniques used are not generally available to most detectorists, but some of the techniques are. Microscopic photography can be helpful, as can photography with UV lighting, which I've shown and discussed in previous posts. See for eample, The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 9/16/15 Report - Old Rare Treasure Coast Treasures. Using Black Light On Sea Shell Fossils and Artifacts. Outer Banks Videos. Anyone can purchase a UV light and it can be useful in a variety of ways to analyze finds.
I won't get into all the details of the study but highly recommend reading it. It provides some good ideas on artifact investigation and authentifcation.
I was recently looking at some musket balls and other lead bits found by a local detectorist at one of our 1715 Fleet beaches and noticed one musket ball that showed little surface oxidation, unlike most of the others. Lead that is buried so that it is not exposed to much oxygen will not get the same kind of white patina of many other lead objects. Simply looking closely at metal finds can sometimes provide clues.
In the case of the Sponsian coins, the various stages or wear, mineral attachment, and then oxidation were observed, which led to the conclusion of the coins being circulated, buried for relatively long periods and then exhumed
Here are a couple more sentences excerpted from the same study.
Talking about faked aging on coins, the authors said, The motivation for our study was that modern imaging and analytical techniques should be able to detect such treatment, especially when questionable coins are compared with genuine pieces of the period. If the coins proved to be fakes, they would make a particularly interesting case study in antiquarian forgery; if authentic, they would be of clear historical interest.
Back to the musket balls. One of the musketballs was mangled. It looked like it was "chewed" up. It was suggested that some musketballs were chewed by pigs.
On careful inspection without the aid of technology, there were some small marks that were repeated on the surface of the lead musket ball. The marks were rectangular and showed what appeared to four stripes or striations. These marks were small and were repeated but were only a small percentage of all the marks on the surface.
It so happens that I once found a pig jaw with most of the teeth intact while hunting bottles. Although it makes a lovely (though primitive looking ) necklace when suspended from a cord around my neck, it came in handy.
 |
| Found Pig Jaw. |
So I wondered if the small rectangular marks with striations could be the marks of pig teeth. After inspecting the pig teeth, I saw nothing that would make a similar mark, although I do not have the front teeth, which might be the most likely candidates for a match. My impression, though, is that the rectangular marks repeated on the cannon ball were probably not from pig teeth, although the other marks were not similarly excluded.
Here is the crown of a pig molar.
 |
| Pig Molar. |
If I could find the front teeth or even good closeup pictures of the front teeth I could probably determine if the small rectangular marks were made by pig teeth or not. So far I would say probably not.
So what made the small striated marks on the musket ball? The question has not yet been answered, but could provide some useful clues when the question is answered.
If I had the mangled ball in hand, I might be able to determine if the other marks were made by chewing or not. The marks could also be matched with other types of teeth.
I summary, I highly recommend closely examination finds. For me, it is both fun and educational.
---
Here are some photos of Turtle Trail which DJ took yesterday.
 |
| Turtle Trail. Photo Taken by DJ Saturday. |
 |
Turtle Trail As It Appeared Saturday. Photo by DJ. DJ said the beach is taking on more of the look of a summer beach. Dj also brought up the subject of wave refraction, which I'll try to address some other time. Thanks DJ. --- |
 |
| Source: MagicSeaWeed.com. |
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net