Abstract
An extensive analytical study has been performed on a large number of gold coins (Norman-Swabian Augustale and Tarì, Grosso of Lucca, Florin of Florence) minted in Italy from the end of XII century to XIV century. The X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique was used for verifying the composition of the coins. XRF is a nondestructive technique particularly suited for in situ quantitative analysis of gold and minor elements in the precious alloy. The Florins turned out to have a gold content very close to 24 carats (pure gold) although in a couple of cases we observed relatively high concentrations of iron (around 2%) or lead (around 1%). The Grosso of Lucca has a similar composition, with a measured gold content around 97% due to a higher silver percentage (about 2%), with respect to the average Florin. The Augustali analyzed showed, on average, a gold content around 89%. The average gold content of the Tarì analysed is around 72%, with a relatively large variability. The analysis revealed the use of native gold for the coinage of the Florins, excluding the possibility of recycling gold coming from other sources. On the other hand, the variability observed in the compositions of the Tarì and Augustali could suggest the reuse of Islamic and North African gold. The study could shed some light on the sudden diffusion of gold coins in Italy around the first half of XIII century, allowing hypotheses on the provenience of the gold used for a coinage that dominated the economic trades from then on.
Highlights
The analytical determination of ancient coins’ composition is important for gathering information about the historical situation and the commercial exchanges at the place and time of their coinage [1,2,3]
The analysis revealed the use of native gold for the coinage of the Florins, excluding the possibility of recycling gold coming from other sources
The variability observed in the compositions of the Tarı and Augustali could suggest the reuse of Islamic and North African gold
Summary
The analytical determination of ancient coins’ composition is important for gathering information about the historical situation and the commercial exchanges at the place and time of their coinage [1,2,3] It is a challenging task that has to take into account the historical, numismatic, and economic value of the object under study. The intrinsic limitations and drawbacks associated with XRF analysis in numismatics are often underestimated, it is a matter of fact that, in a few years, the introduction of this technique has allowed the gathering of precious information, for instance, on more than 1000 Roman nummi belonging to the Misurata Treasure that were analysed in situ, at the Leptis Magna Museum (Al Khums, Libya), by Romano et al [8] and, on hundreds of Roman silver denarii analysed in 2012 by Pardini et al [9]
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