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Coins
Aleksander Bursche
The siliqua
The siliqua was discovered in a small inhumation
cemetery in Torstorp Vesterby in Hje Taastrup district in grave No 3368, a richly furnished female burial dated to phase C3. It contains e.g. an imported late
Roman conical glass beaker, two brooches one in
gilt sheet silver, the other a bronze silver plated ribbon-shaped specimen , as well as three necklaces of
glass and amber beads (Boye & Fonnesbech-Sandberg 2000, 40-41; Fonnesbech-Sandberg 2006, 113122). The coin, with a suspension loop, probably was
an element of the smallest necklace which next to
glass, amber and silver foil beads, included a gilt silver bi-conical pendant.
tiva made out from the coffers of comes sacrarum largitionum to leaders of Gothic and possibly, Sarmatian,
foederati allied with the Romans. Perhaps this horizon
of finds should be linked with the formation under
Hermanaric of a strong alliance under Gothic leadership which gained ascendancy over areas appa
rently stretching from the lower Danube and the
Black Sea to the Baltic and south-western Scandinavia. The siliquae made their way north along the
Dancheny-Brangstrup horizon, similarly as many
other silver and gold items from phase C3 and gold
coins and medallions of the house of Constantine
(Henriksen 1992; Bursche 1996b, 40; 1998, 225; map
1; 2002, 73; 2003; 2006, 225).
Fig. 4. Brndsager, Hje Taastrup district, gold barbarian counterfeit from grave 3; (scale 2:1). (Photo J. Weng).
Analogies
From the territory of Denmark we know of ten further gold imitations of Roman coins, all of them discovered presumably on Fyn, at rslev, Brangstrup (3
specimens), Kvndrup, Tange, Tsinge, Gudme,
Brenderup, and one piece lacking provenance in the
collection of Ole Worm, probably from Denmark
(Fyn?). Most of them have suspension loops. All were
analysed recently by H. Horsns (2002) and so are
not discussed in here at more length. Of special in-
Fig. 8. Heiligenhafen, Oldenburg district in SchleswigHolstein (D), barbarian aureus; (photo by Claudia Franz,
Archologisches Landesmuseum, Schleswig) (scale 2:1).
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Conclusions
Both coins fitted with suspension loops found their
way into rich inhumation burials from the 3rd and 4th
c. probably as elements of bead necklaces, items of
the grave goods. As such, the numismates themselves
cannot be treated in this case as intentional grave offerings. The need to distinguish between coins deposited in graves as ornaments, amulets, dress accessories or elements of pouches from specimens deposited as intentional offerings, so-called oboles, has
been signalled for some time in studies of J. Werner
(1973), A. Bursche & J. Okulicz-Kozaryn (1999), H.
Steuer (2002) and J. Bemmann (2005).
Notes
1. At Grunajki distr. Gizycko
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on. Consequently, the described imitation presumably has a lower Danubian provenance.
6. Stribrny 2003; cf. also paper by Clive Stannard, Evaluating the
monetary supply: were dies reproducer mechanically in antiquity, presented at the conference Quantifying Monetary Supplies in
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