East roman coins from Northern Mongolia and replicas thereof

In 2011, a number of gold and silver coins as well as their replicas were found in the Shoroon Bumbagar tomb in Baiannuur sum of Mongolia. It is the largest discovery of the coins and their replicas in East Asia and these numismatic materials (41 gold and silver coins) are very important for the Central Asian archaeology. The authors of the excavations discovered a set of replicas of the East Roman (Byzantine) coins: solidus, semissis, and tremissis. Additionally, there were “originals” in the burial, which probably entered the Mongol steppes from the Byzantine Empire via trade along the Silk Road or by other routes. In China, similar artefacts are widespread from the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to Luoyang. However, northward replicas of the “Constantinople” coins are virtually unknown. The unique Mongolian materials are still unfamiliar to Russian researchers. There is one publication by S.A. Yatsenko, which was mostly dedicated to images and sculptures and only slightly mentioned coins. Here, we attempt to fill this gap by briefly describing some of the numismatic finds, with illustrations. Coin replicas from this tomb significantly expanded the list of the Roman coins copied in the East. As a convincing evidence, the Byzantine coins discovered along the Silk Road strongly prove that the Byzantine Empire kept close interactions with both nomadic and settled ethnic groups in the Eurasian Steppe in the period of the 6th to 9th centuries.