Earliest Known Coin Mold from Roman Spain Unearthed

La Brújula Verde reports that researchers from the University of Jaén uncovered the earliest known stone coin mold from the Roman province of Hispania at the Ibero-Roman town of Obulco, modern-day Porcuna.

The earliest known stone coin mold from the Roman province of Hispania has been unearthed at the Ibero-Roman town of Obulco, La Brújula Verde reports.

Many coin mints emerged in Iberia during the second and first century b.c., but while archaeologists have excavated large numbers of coins, they have uncovered little evidence of the workshops where they were made. The object, which is one half of a bivalve mold used to produce coin blanks, measures about four inches in length. X-ray fluorescence spectrometry of the mold revealed the presence of a binary copper-lead alloy in its metallic impressions, which is consistent with the compositions previously identified in coins from Obulco.

Experts determined that the mold was used in the production of bronze coins dated to between 189 and 165 b.c., when the city of Obulco issued its first coins.

“This discovery is especially relevant because it offers valuable information about the organization and location of minting establishments in Hispania during the Roman Republican period,” the researchers said in a statement.

On the Mediterranean coast of Spain, about 55 miles east of Seville, lies the small town of Porcuna. At its northern edge, a sprawling archaeological site is still yielding insights into the history of Obulco, an important Ibero-Roman town that was founded in the fifth century b.c. and abandoned in the eighth century a.d. Among the artifacts uncovered at Obulco are the earliest known coins from the Iberian Peninsula.