Catalog
Antoninianus - Tetricus I NOBILITAS; Barbarous imitation
| Issuer | Gallic Empire (Roman splinter states) |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | 17 mm |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Radiate and draped bust of Tetricus I facing right, rendered in a crude, debased style characteristic of barbarous imitations. The radiate crown is visible with exaggerated spikes, and the drapery is suggested by rough, simplified strokes. A blundered, largely illegible Latin legend encircles the bust in the field, derived from the prototype imperial titulature but degenerated beyond coherent reading. The overall die-cutting reflects the work of an unofficial, non-imperial celator copying Gallic Empire prototypes. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Blundered legend. |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Barbarous radiates imitating Tetricus I flooded the northwestern provinces in the years following the Gallic Empire's collapse in 274 AD, when Aurelian's monetary reforms created an acute shortage of small change in Britain and northern Gaul. Local workshops — some little more than a smith with a pair of crude dies — churned out imitations that shrank in both size and silver content with each generation of copying, until pieces like this one bore only the faintest ancestral resemblance to the prototype. The NOBILITAS type was among the more commonly imitated reverses, which is precisely why so many barbarous versions survive.