Roman Provincial or Dacian/Thracian gold stater of Koson, mi...

Hammer

£1,600

Roman Provincial or Dacian/Thracian gold stater of Koson, mid-1st C. BC. Featuring an eagle standing on sceptre with wreath in claw, and three men dressed in togas left, two holding axes, with monogram to left and 'KO??N' beneath. There are two schools of thought as to the origin of these coins: One being that they were struck by Marcus Junius Brutus (assassin of Julius Caesar) using gold provided by the Senate to raise an army of mercenaries from King Koson of Dacia (believed to be Cotison as mentioned by Horace and Suetonius). Metallurgical analysis of coins bearing the monogram (believed to be BR) indicate that they were made from non-local gold, supporting this theory. Ones without the monogram seem to be made from local Dacian gold. The alternative is that the monogram is O?B for Olbia, or BA for basileus (king) and that the designs are simply imitative of Roman designs. Slabbed NGC 'GEM UNCIRCULATED'.