Coin find from Sontheim

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Celtic rainbow bowl of comparable design from another find, exhibited in the Gäubodenmuseum

The coin find from Sontheim consists of around 350 Celtic coins known as “ rainbow bowls ” with a total material weight of at least 2.7 kg of gold. The originals are now in the State Archaeological Collection , copies in the South Swabian Archaeological Museum in Mindelheim .

The find was made by a private probe under ultimately unclear circumstances, probably in 1990 in the area of ​​the municipality of Sontheim in the Unterallgäu district . The location is still controversial.

history

In May 1990, the Munich-based shared Bankhaus H. Aufhäuser the Prehistoric State Collection with that Allgäu private citizen had offered a larger amount of Celtic gold coins to buy. The coins would have been found in April 1990 in an undisclosed location. The coin dealers reached an agreement with the state collection that all coins would be recorded and offered to the museum for sale.

In mid-July 1990, museum director Hermann Dannheimer examined the almost complete find of a total of 328 staters in the bank  . According to the written statements of the initially unknown finder, these should have been found in two complexes: 229 coins scattered on an arable property south of Sontheim in the Hochstätter Holz corridor , 99 coins a few weeks later in a confined space in a wooded property a few kilometers further south. In addition, another one to two dozen coins should have remained with the finder or were given away to third parties.

On July 14, 1990, the location of complex 1 was communicated through the intermediary of the bank. It was a relatively narrow meadow land approx. 1250 meters east-northeast of the hamlet of Lindenhöfe, which belongs to Sontheim. An exact site inspection was not immediately possible due to the high grass cover. However, the owner Josef O. announced that he had observed a probe at the point in question. He also showed a gold coin and promised a share in the sales proceeds. After the meadow had been harvested, another inspection took place on July 25th, during which a control dig was agreed for October 1990.

On August 10, 1990, the coin dealership named the site of Complex 2 as a forest property in the Böhen district , just under four kilometers south of Ottobeuren . Contact with the owner came about on October 31st. This said that the finder had informed him that a coin had been found. He was also given a copy, but still doesn't believe that the find could have been made in the specified area.

In the meantime, the name of the finder has leaked through clues from the probe community. It was about the well-known Viktor R. from Ottobeuren. On September 15, 1990, he even held a “treasure hunt competition” on Josef O.'s farm in Sontheim, in which he openly reported on the coin discovery.

As a result, the State Collection was offered further pieces from the Sontheim coin find through several coin dealers. These came from the surroundings of the finder R. and the Sontheim property owner O. and, with one exception, turned out to be modern forgeries. Thereupon the public prosecutor arranged for a house search of R., whereby a further eleven forgeries and one original coin were found. Until February 1993, further originals and forgeries appeared at auctions and at dealerships, with some family members of R. appearing as consignors.

Ultimately, the State Collection had 343 originals and 31 forgeries. After only two models were found among the originals for the total of eight counterfeit variants, it is assumed that there are at least six other originals. The two complexes with 328 coins originally offered for sale by the Aufhäuser Bank all consist of originals and do not contain any models for the forgeries. In this respect, the latter probably emerged only after the majority of the finds had been sold, potentially in connection with the treasure hunt competition.

In 1993 the supraregional press criticized the state authorities' purchase of finds from robbery excavations , not least because the relevant finding situation for the scientific evaluation remains unclear in such cases. The Sontheimer Fund was explicitly named as one of several examples.

Location

The statement made by the finder that the coins were found in different places is considered to be refuted, as the two complexes are similar in terms of type spectrum and aging characteristics. In particular, when R.'s house was searched, photos were found on which coins from the two alleged complexes are mixed. It is believed that a fund has been randomly split in order to maximize sales proceeds.

The exact location of the site is also controversial. The control excavation planned for October 1990 at the first known site in Sontheim did not take place until June 18, 1991, i.e. 14 months after the presumed discovery date. An area of ​​4.0 by 4.8 meters around the alleged site was examined more closely. However, no evidence was found that the coins could actually have been buried at this point. An investigation with metal detectors in a somewhat larger room also did not reveal any evidence of other finds. Another metal detector examination on August 22nd and 23rd, 1991 also yielded no results.

This result has been interpreted in various ways. The proponents of the Sontheim site pointed out that a litter find close to the surface would only have led to minimal interference with the soil, which would no longer be recognizable within 14 months due to the dense roots of the grass. Opponents of the Sontheim theory, on the other hand, stated that R. was known to have been on a treasure hunt in Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bohemia and that the coin could have been found there - in the absence of suitable further traces in Sontheim.

A comparison of a soil sample from Sontheim with soil adherence on the coins by the Technical University of Munich led to consistent results with regard to the clay minerals and some other chemical elements. The landowner O. also initially stated that he had received a share in the profits of a six-figure DM sum from R. , which corresponded to about half of the sales proceeds from complex 1. O. withdrew this information later, however. Based on these two pieces of evidence, it is officially assumed that the find actually took place on the Sontheimer Flur, even if the exact situation could no longer be clarified. However, there is a possibility that the coins originally found elsewhere were buried again in Sontheim and only then officially "found" in order to enjoy the liberal Bavarian treasure shelf .

The Mindelheim district home nurse Peter Hartmann has only recently questioned the correctness of the soil analysis. He assumes that the find was not made in the Unterallgäu district.

The Böhen site was only superficially explored on June 18, 1991, as the local owner himself credibly assured that the find could not have been made in the forest. Nor had he received any profit sharing.

meaning

Celtic coins were repeatedly found in Bavaria as early as the Middle Ages. These often came to the surface during plowing and were then washed off in rain showers. These finds were called "rainbow bowls" and were considered to be lucky charms and remedies. It was not until the 19th century that the opinion gained acceptance that these were coins of Celtic origin.

In the 18th and 19th centuries there were several large finds of Celtic coins: in 1751 more than 1400 gold coins were found in Gaggers near Odelzhausen , in 1771 in Podmokl in Bohemia almost 5000 and in 1858 in Irsching near Vohburg an der Donau about 1000. These finds were in their historical Meaning not recognized and largely melted down. It was only in the case of the Irschingen find that Franz Streber carried out an initial scientific investigation.

After Irsching there were no other large finds for almost 120 years. Systematic excavations in the mid-1950s in the Manching oppidum yielded comparatively few Celtic gold coins. Not until 1976 were over 400 silver coins discovered in Neuses an der Regnitz , including four rainbow bowls. In 1986 the coin find from Großbissendorf near Hohenfels of almost 400 coins followed, and in 1987 that from Wallersdorf near Dingolfing of a similar size. In 1990, in addition to the Sontheim coin find, a smaller depository of 25 coins was discovered in the Ammersee area . Because of the loss of most of the earlier finds, these more modern complexes form the basis for research into Celtic coinage.

The Sontheim coin find is important in two respects: On the one hand, like that of Großbissendorf, it contains a particularly large number of Stetars with the motif types “star” and “leaf wreath”, so that conclusions can be drawn about the manufacturing process and especially the stamps . On the other hand, the Sontheim find contains several specimens of rare motif types, while in other depots these either did not appear at all or only appeared as individual items.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Stoll: Gold prospectors move through the region .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Dannheimer: Fund history . In: The coin find from Sontheim . S. 11-18 .
  3. ↑ Hall number 412/39
  4. ↑ Hall number 555 or 556.
  5. ↑ Plenty of scrap . In: Der Spiegel .
  6. ↑ a b c d Ziegaus: Historical significance of the coin find . In: The coin find from Sontheim . S. 19-35 .
  7. ↑ Franz Streber: From the home and the age of the so-called rainbow bowl . In: About the so-called rainbow bowl . tape 1 . Munich 1860, urn : nbn: de: bvb: 824-dtl-0000083136 . Franz Streber: Description of the s. G. Rainbow bowl and her types try to explain . In: About the so-called rainbow bowl . tape
     2 . Munich 1862, urn : nbn: de: bvb: 12-bsb10685074-0 .