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1 Denarius - Imitating Marcus Aurelius, 161-180, or Septimius Severus, 193-211
| Issuer | Uncertain Germanic tribes |
|---|---|
| Year | 225-325 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Denarius = 1/25 Aureus |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Bare-headed, draped bust of a Roman emperor effigy facing right, rendered in a barbarian imitative style with crude but recognizable portraiture. The bust is encircled by a degenerate legend composed of garbled Latin letterforms, reflecting the non-literate copyist's approximation of an imperial prototype. The portrait retains general stylistic features associated with Marcus Aurelius or Septimius Severus, including a bearded profile. The overall execution is characteristic of Germanic barbarous imitations, with irregular flan shape and shallow, imprecise die engraving. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Standing figure facing left, rendered in a simplified barbarous imitative style, holding an uncertain object in the right hand, possibly a Victory statuette, and a scepter or spear in the left hand. The design loosely copies a standard Roman imperial reverse type associated with Marcus Aurelius or Septimius Severus denarii. The figure is surrounded by a degenerate pseudo-legend composed of garbled Latin letterforms arranged in an irregular manner around the field. The overall engraving is crude, consistent with a non-professional Germanic workshop imitating official Roman coinage. |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
Barbarous imitations of Roman denarii proliferated across the Germanic frontier during the third century, a period when official Roman silver was being debased so aggressively that the distinction between an imperial coin and a tribal copy sometimes mattered less than its silver content. These pieces were struck by communities outside the limes who had absorbed enough Roman metalworking knowledge to produce credible — if stylistically degraded — coinage, likely for use in cross-border trade or mercenary payment.
The attribution range spanning both Marcus Aurelius and Septimius Severus prototypes reflects a common problem with this material: Germanic die-cutters frequently copied from worn or mixed exemplars, collapsing decades of imperial portraiture into a single muddled type.