LAUSR

A hoard of Roman imperial bronze coins ending with Commodus issues was discovered in Dobruja (southeastern region of Romania) sometime before 2016. All the coins are sestertii, starting with those of Trajan (2), continuing with Hadrian (17), Antoninus Pius (17), Faustina I the Elder (5), Marcus Aurelius (9, of which one as Caesar), Faustina II the Younger (9, of which one coin issued under Antoninus Pius), Lucilla (3), Commodus (7) and Crispina (1). The latest coin was minted in AD 192. The coins are heavily worn out, with the inscriptions just partially visible and a lighter weight. To the conclusion, the time of hiding should be sometime after AD 192, possible end of the 2nd century AD, within the environment made up by a failing attempt of an Scythians’ invasion. The literary sources document their intention to start up an offensive movement in this area. The failure of this initiative seems to have failed due to the weather conditions, heavy rainfalls and thunders, that killed three of their chieftains. The possibility of Scythian invasion ceased the trade connections between the populations of nowadays territory of Romanian Moldova and those leaving within the Roman province of Dacia. This tensioned situation is supported by the horizon of hoards from Moldova and Wallachia, in which the latest coins were issued between AD 193 and AD 196.