1 Aureus - Imitating an Uncertain Ruler

Barbarous gold imitations of Roman aurei proliferated along the Rhine and Danube frontiers during the third and early fourth centuries, produced by Germanic groups who lacked Roman minting infrastructure but understood the coin's transactional weight in cross-border trade and mercenary payment. The prototypes being copied were often already generations out of date by the time the dies were cut, which is why attribution to a specific emperor is frequently impossible — the legends, when present at all, are garbled beyond recovery.

The Jameson collection, which catalogued many such pieces, left numerous imitative aurei unassigned rather than force identifications the evidence wouldn't support.