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1 Solidus In the name of Heraclius
| Issuer | Uncertain Germanic tribes |
|---|---|
| Year | 610-675 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Solidus |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Facing helmeted and cuirassed bust of Heraclius, rendered in a crude barbaric style with pronounced facial features including a broad beard. The emperor holds a cross on a long shaft in his right hand. A circular Latin legend surrounds the bust within a beaded border, the lettering exhibiting the irregular, somewhat debased character typical of Germanic imitative coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | DN IIERACL - IVS PP AVG (Translation: Dominus Noster Heraclius Perpetuus Augustus Our Lord, Heraclius, perpetual August) |
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| Additional information |
These pseudo-imperial solidi, struck by Germanic successor-state moneyers imitating Byzantine prototypes, circulated across a Frankish and Lombard world that still measured monetary credibility in terms of Constantinople's authority. The issuers — their precise identity debated between Merovingian workshops and other northern mints — lacked the infrastructure and refined alloy control of the imperial mint, which accounts for the weight reduction visible across the type. Gold fineness varies considerably between specimens.
Attribution remains genuinely contested. The MIB, Jónas, and DOC references all treat these as comparative rather than definitive placements — a sign that no scholarly consensus has fully resolved the mint question.