1 Aureus - Imitating Probus, 276-282

Barbarous gold imitations of Roman aurei present one of the more persistent puzzles in late antique numismatics. These pieces were struck by Germanic groups — almost certainly within or just beyond the Rhine-Danube frontier — who had access to Roman gold through payment, plunder, or tribute, and the technical means to produce convincing copies. Probus was a logical model: his reign was long enough that his coinage circulated widely, and his active campaigns along the Germanic frontier guaranteed exposure.

The Calicó cross-reference is instructive. That catalogue's hesitation to assign a firm parallel reflects how idiosyncratic individual barbarous strikes can be — same weight standard, different hand entirely.