1 Aureus - Imitating an Uncertain Ruler

Barbarous imitations of Roman aurei produced in the late third and early fourth centuries present consistent attribution headaches — the prototypes being copied were often themselves recent issues, meaning the imitating tribes had access to fresh Roman coinage through payment, trade, or plunder. Roman frontier policy under Diocletian and Constantine included substantial cash disbursements to Germanic leaders as both subsidy and tribute, which flooded the Rhine and Danube periphery with official gold and gave local craftsmen ready models to copy.

The weight here is close enough to official standards to suggest the issuer understood or cared about gold content — not all barbarous imitations do.