Early Auroracoin price spike was not pump and dump. It was supply and demand. Baldur was the first to do the airdrop distribution method, which seemed like a genius solution to achieving critical mass.
The supply of Auroracoin was severely restricted at the very beginning, and lots of people wanted a piece of the action. Once Airdrop #1 happened coin supply exploded and price dropped accordingly.
I was watching from the beginning, and agree with what Bimmerhead says in regard to AUR, but will include that I believe the "newness" wore off too.
Actually the price had fallen from 0.14149900 where it peaked down to 0.01996670 before the airdrop even started. So clearly increased coin supply is just part of the story.