1 Solidus In the name of Anthemius

Anthemius, the last western emperor to hold meaningful power before the final collapse in 476, was elevated by the eastern court in Constantinople and murdered by Ricimer — his own father-in-law — in 474. Germanic groups continued striking solidi in his name well after his death, a practice rooted in commercial necessity: Roman gold coinage was the trusted currency of Mediterranean trade, and a recognizable imperial name carried weight that a tribal one did not. The issuing authority here is genuinely uncertain, with Visigoths, Burgundians, and others all producing imitative solidi in this period.