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1 Quinarius - Imitating Aurelian, 270-275
| Issuer | Uncertain Germanic tribes |
|---|---|
| Year | 270-325 |
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| Currency | Aureus (circa 150-325) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A stylized eagle depicted facing right with wings spread, rendered in the barbarous imitative tradition typical of Germanic copies of late Roman imperial coinage. The bird occupies the central field, its form simplified yet recognizable as derived from Roman reverse iconography. A blundered and partially coherent legend surrounds the design in the field, reading AII - SMI, representing a corrupted transcription of the Roman mint or workshop marks found on the prototype. The die work is irregular and the legend degraded, consistent with production by craftsmen unfamiliar with the Latin alphabet. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Barbarous imitations of Aurelian's antoniniani in gold are genuinely unusual — most Germanic copying of late Roman coinage was done in base metal, opportunistically, for local exchange. A gold piece at this weight suggests either a single-coin diplomatic gift or a prestige object produced by a smith with access to Roman bullion but only a worn prototype to copy from. The "quinarius" attribution is conventional rather than official; no Germanic authority was issuing denominated coinage in any Roman sense.