Novel analytical protocols for elemental and isotopic analysis of lead coins—Sasanian lead coins as a case study

Sasanian copper and billon coins from the collections of the Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels, Belgium—insights using semi-quantitative analysis by μXRF

“…As a rule then, silver contents in lead higher than 100 ppm, as observed here, are considered natural (Gomes et al 2018). Similarly elevated Ag contents had already been observed in the lead coins of the same collection (Van Ham-Meert et al 2018). We cannot discard of course that the real silver concentration might be lower due to surface enrichment of silver.…”

“…Therefore, and with the lack of available time in mind, only the obverse of the coins were measured henceforth. The coin for which this was done is not reported here, as it turned out to be a lead coin and included in the publication on that subject (Van Ham-Meert et al 2018). Three replicate measurements of 120 s were performed for each coin, and the averages of those measurements are presented in the tables.…”

“…The catalogue of coins by Gyselen and Mochiri (2017) describes more coins than are reported here. The lead coins were already reported on in previous work (Van Ham-Meert et al 2018). Some copper coins are not included in the present paper.…”

Metallurgical investigations of Indo-Sasanian Copper-Silver alloy coins of Gurjara-Pratiharas dynasty

“…The formation of a uniform grey color layer on the surface is seen in coin no 1; however, in some coins, localized incrustation/corrosion of green and reddish-brown pigment was observed. The weight of the silver Sasanian coins was reported in the literature as nearly 4 g [1]; on the other hand, Ham-Meert et al examined the lead coins of various sizes, and the weight of the coins was found to be in the range from 1 g to 16 g [3]. It may be understood that the weight of the investigated Indo-Sasanian coins is lower in comparison to the silver and lead Sasanian coins.…”

“…It was one of the most prosperous and dominant states in the ancient world [1]. Different types of metal coinage such as silver, gold, copper, and silver-copper were used during the Sasanian Empire [2,3]. Ancient coins are important archaeological objects and these may provide valuable information such as manufacturing technology, provenance as well as politics, and economics of that time [4].…”