Counterfeits, Imitations, and Copies of Roman Imperial Denarii

Roman Imperial denarii from the first–third centuries AD are, almost without exception, the most common ancient coinage to be found in Central, Northern, and Eastern Europe beyond the Roman limes. Perhaps surprisingly, however, a significant percentage of these coins are in fact counterfeit, comprised largely of denarii subaerati (plated denarii, fourrées) and denarii flati (base metal cast copies). Moreover, these fake coins were not only manufactured by Romans themselves, but also by barbarian peoples in Eastern Europe, far from the Roman limes, in what should be considered a mass-scale phenomena.

This volume draws together archaeological, numismatic, and historical research in order to offer a new assessment of the production and use of counterfeit Roman Imperial denarii both within the European provinces of the Roman Empire and in European Barbaricum. Drawing on the results of the research project Barbarian Fakers. Manufacturing and Use of Counterfeit Roman Imperial Denarii in East-Central Europe in Antiquity, from the University of Warsaw, the papers gathered here explore the transfer of ideas, technology, and finished products that led to the transfer of counterfeit coinage across the Empire, and shed light on how, why, and when such coins were created and used.

List of Illustrations

Introduction
Arkadiusz Dymowski (independent scholar) and Kyrylo Myzgin (University of Warsaw)

1. Counterfeit Coin Moulds from Britannia Inferior: A Summary and Brief Discussion
Richard Brickstock (Independent scholar)

2. The Production of Struck and Cast Denarii in Châteaubleau (France) during the Second Half of the Third Century AD
Fabien Pilon (Independent scholar)

3. Counterfeit Denarii North of Hadrian’s Wall: Roman or ‘Barbarian’?
Fraser Hunter (National Museums Scotland)

4. Non-official Roman Denarii in Thuringia: The Finds from the Germanic Settlement of Frienstedt
Mario Schlapke (Thüringischen Landesamtes für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie)

5. The ONAV Group of Barbarian Imitations and Copies of Roman Imperial Coins: Manufacturing of Denarii Subaerati in Eastern Europe in Antiquity
Arkadiusz Dymowski (Independent scholar)

6. Finds of Counterfeit Roman Denarii at Selected Roman Period Settlement Sites in Western Lesser Poland: The State of Research and Prospects
Jarosław Bodzek (Jagiellonian University in Krakow), Szymon Jellonek (University of Warsaw), and Barbara Zając (National Museum in Krakow)

7. Cast Copies of Roman Imperial Denarii from Belarus
Vital’ Sidarovich (University of Warsaw)

8. Technological Variety of Methods Used in the Production of Cast Copies of Roman Denarii on the Territory of the Chernyakhiv Culture between the Middle Dniester and Southern Bug
Oleksandr Nadvirniak and Oleg Pohoriletc (State Historical and Cultural Reserve ‘Mezhybizh’)

9. Elemental Composition of Cast Copies of Denarii and Related Production Waste from Ukraine Determined Using PIXE and XRF Methods
Oleksandr Buhay (Institute of Applied Physics in Sumy), Kyrylo Myzgin (University of Warsaw), Oleksandr Nadvirniak (State Historical and Cultural Reserve ‘Mezhybizh’), and Oleg Pohoriletc (State Historical and Cultural Reserve ‘Mezhybizh’)

10. Denarii flati
Kyrylo Myzgin (University of Warsaw)

11. Cast Counterfeit Coins or pecunia flata? Ancient Latin Sources and the Term denarii flati
Bartosz Awianowicz (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń)