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1 Nummus Imitating Vandal Kingdom Nummus
| Issuer | Uncertain Germanic tribes |
|---|---|
| Year | 501-534 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Nummus |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Crude, schematic bust of an emperor facing right, depicted diademed with a pearl diadem, draped and cuirassed, rendered in a highly barbarous style characteristic of Germanic imitative coinage. The effigy is encircled by a series of short radial strokes or pellets, likely a degraded imitation of a dotted border or legend found on the prototype Vandal nummus. The portrait, though rudimentary, retains the general outline of late Roman imperial iconography. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (501-534) |
| Additional information |
These tiny bronzes were struck — or more accurately, cast or crudely hammered — by communities operating outside any formal mint structure, copying Vandal nummi circulating in North Africa after 429 AD. Who exactly produced them remains genuinely unresolved; candidates range from Berber groups on the fringes of Vandal territory to traders moving goods across the southern Mediterranean littoral. The weight variance across known specimens is extreme, suggesting no enforced standard.
The Vandal nummus itself was already a debased, low-value piece with limited purchasing power. Imitating it implies a local need for the smallest unit of exchange where even inferior copies passed without objection.