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1 Aureus - Imitating Septimius Severus, 193-211
| Issuer | Uncertain Germanic tribes |
|---|---|
| Year | 250-325 |
| Type | Non-circulating coin |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Barbarous imitation of a standing male figure, likely derived from a Victory or Mars type common on aurei of Septimius Severus, rendered in a highly schematic and abstracted manner. The figure appears to stand facing, with arms extended, possibly holding a spear or trophy, though the details are indistinct due to crude workmanship. Garbled pseudo-Latin letters are scattered around the figure in the field, copied from a Roman prototype without comprehension of the original legend. The overall composition reflects the Germanic craftsman's attempt to replicate the visual authority of imperial Roman coinage. The flan is irregular, and the strike is slightly off-center. |
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| Reverse lettering | OINOOONIO |
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| Additional information |
Germanic imitations of Roman aurei were not decorative copies — they were functional currency substitutes used in gift exchange, tribute payments, and inter-tribal commerce along the frontier zones where Roman coin rarely circulated in reliable supply. The prototype here, Severan-era aurei, was among the most widely imitated in the third and fourth centuries precisely because those coins remained in active circulation across the Rhine-Danube frontier long after Severus's death.
The Calicó reference is comparative only, reflecting how poorly this material is catalogued even in specialist literature. Attribution to "Germanic" production is largely typological — no controlled excavation has pinned a mint site for these pieces.