Coins study suggests ‘fake emperor’ was real, say scientists

A coin from the Hunterian’s collection that is said to show a Roman emperor named Sponsian. Photograph: University of Glasgow

A hoard of gold coins once thought to be fakes have been authenticated by researchers who say the artefacts reveal a long-lost Roman emperor.

The coins bear the name and image of a shadowy historical figure, Sponsian, whose existence was previously placed in doubt by experts who suggested the coins were the work of sophisticated 18th-century fraudsters.