Dacian Coinage

Dacian coinage refers to the coins produced and used by the Getae and Dacians, the Thracian-speaking peoples who lived north of the lower Danube in the area of modern Romania and neighbouring lands, from around the third century BCE until the Roman conquest of Dacia in 106 CE. It consists mainly of local silver imitations of Greek and Roman coins, together with the distinctive gold staters inscribed with the name Koson.

Because the Dacians left few written records, their coins and hoards are an important source for their economy, their contacts with the Greek and Roman worlds and the power of their kings.

The Getae and Dacians first encountered coins through Greek cities on the Black Sea coast and through contact with Macedon and Thrace. From about the third century BCE local workshops began copying large silver tetradrachms, especially those of Philip II of Macedon, whose gold stater was copied across Celtic and Thracian Europe, and later the tetradrachms of Thasos and of the Roman province of Macedonia.

Over time these copies became more stylised and regional types developed, which numismatists name after the places where they were first found. Their silver content and weight vary, and they seem to have served as bullion and as a store of value for elites as much as a medium of exchange.

From the late second century BCE the Roman denarius flowed into Dacia in very large numbers, through trade (possibly including the slave trade) and payments. Republican denarii are among the most common finds in Dacian hoards, and by the first century BCE they had largely replaced local types. Dacians also produced copies of Republican denarii, and finds of coin dies at Dacian sites suggest that some of this copying took place locally. The copies are often very close to the originals, so separating them from official Roman coins can be difficult.

The best-known Dacian-related coins are the gold staters with the Greek legend ΚΟΣΩΝ (Koson). The obverse shows three figures in Roman dress, a magistrate between two attendants, and the reverse an eagle standing on a sceptre and holding a wreath. These designs were copied from Roman denarii of the 50s BCE, including an issue of Marcus Junius Brutus.

Who Koson was remains uncertain. One view identifies him as a Thracian or Dacian ruler, perhaps a successor of the Dacian king Burebista, who struck coins in Greek style. Another links the coins to Brutus, who raised money and troops in the Balkans in 43 to 42 BCE before the Battle of Philippi, and may have struck the coins for, or in alliance with, a local ruler. Large numbers of Koson staters have been found in the Orăștie Mountains around the Dacian capital Sarmizegetusa Regia, and many were removed by looters in modern times. Romanian authorities have since recovered some of these coins along with Dacian gold bracelets.

Under King Decebalus, Dacia fought two wars against the emperor Trajan, in 101 to 102 and 105 to 106 CE. After the conquest Dacia became a Roman province and used Roman currency, including the sestertius and the as. Ancient writers report that Trajan took large quantities of Dacian gold and silver, and this wealth is often linked to Roman spending in the following years, though the figures given in later sources are not reliable.

Dacian coinage invites comparison with Gaulish coinage and Iron Age British coinage, which also began by imitating Macedonian models. The name of the modern Romanian leu has a different origin, but Dacian coins remain a symbol of early money in the region.

• National History Museum of Romania
• American Numismatic Society