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1 Aureus - Imitating Probus, 276-282
| Issuer | Uncertain Germanic tribes |
|---|---|
| Year | 276-325 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Barbarous imitation of an imperial Roman aureus, presenting a helmeted, draped, and cuirassed bust of Emperor Probus facing left, rendered in a crude provincial style characteristic of Germanic imitative coinage. The crested helmet features schematic decorative detail, and the cuirass is partially visible beneath the drapery. A debased Latin circular legend surrounds the effigy in the field, the letterforms exhibiting the degenerate script typical of late third- to early fourth-century barbarous issues. The overall execution betrays the hand of a non-Roman celator working from a prototype rather than official die-engraving traditions. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | IMP C M HIIRPOBIIS P L AIIG |
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| Additional information |
Barbarous subaerate aureii imitating Probus circulated in Germanic territories well beyond the reach of Roman monetary infrastructure. These are not crude forgeries in the modern criminal sense — they were likely tolerated or even produced semi-officially to meet demand for gold-denomination currency in frontier exchange economies where Roman supply was irregular. The core is bronze with a gold wash thin enough that most examples show significant base-metal bleed through wear points.
Attribution to specific tribes remains impossible without archaeological provenance. The date range extends nearly half a century past Probus's assassination in 282.