Romania recovers gold coins stolen from ancient Dacian capital site

A pair of ancient coins originating from the Sarmizegetusa Regia archeology site in Romania were recently recovered from Dublin, Ireland. Two Koson gold coins dating from the year 42 BC, which were stolen during a public bid in 2011 at an auction house in Dublin, were recovered by a joint team of Irish and Romanian authorities.

The two coins are part of a bigger hoard of archaeological treasures stolen from the Sarmizegetusa Regia site in central Romania between 1998 and 2007. The two coins will be returned to the Romanian state and exhibited in the National History Museum in Bucharest. In 2009, a collection of 142 Kosons weighing 1.2 kilograms was recovered, and estimates at the time pointed to EUR 85,000 in value on the black market for the whole collection. The ancient Koson coins are much disputed by academics; there is no absolute proof where they were minted - in Dacia, Rome or Greece - and no clear evidence of whether the style was copied from the Greeks or Romans, as they exhibit similarities with coins from both civilizations. Romania has managed to recover 706 Koson gold coins since 2005, 13 gold Dacian bracelets, a necklace, gold earrings, three iron Dacian shields, weapons and tools, several tens of thousands of gold, silver and bronze antique coins and other artifacts, which are now in the collections of the National History Museum in Bucharest, Alba Iulia and Cluj Napoca. So far, 28 suspects have been sent to court in three cases related to artifact theft. Sarmizegetusa Regia, the former capital and the most important military, religious and political center of the ancient Dacians, was the capital of Dacian state before the Roman invasion. The ruins of the fortress are located in Hunedoara county. The fortresses in the area are included among the UNESCO world heritage sites. Sarmizegetusa Regia hosts the Circular Calendar, one of the most important Dacian circular sanctuaries. editor@romania-insider.com