Æ In the name of Constantine I, Block legend

These imitative bronzes, struck by Germanic groups operating beyond the Rhine and Danube frontiers, were produced not as forgeries but as functional coinage for populations accustomed to Roman currency yet cut off from regular supply. The block-legend types — where the inscription degenerates into a grid of meaningless lines — represent the furthest end of a copying chain, sometimes several generations removed from a legible prototype. Constantine's name was invoked not for political allegiance but because his issues dominated circulation in the border zones during the early fourth century.