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Antoninianus - Tetricus I PAX AVG; Barbarous imitation
| Issuer | Gallic Empire (Roman splinter states) |
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| Year | |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 13 mm |
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| Obverse description | Debased radiate and draped bust of the emperor facing right, rendered in the crude, summary style characteristic of barbarous imitations. The radiate crown is discernible above the head, with simplified drapery visible at the shoulder. The surrounding legend, partially legible, imitates the official Tetricus I obverse inscription, though letter forms are blundered and degenerate, reflecting the work of an unofficial celator copying prototype coinage. The flan is small and irregular, consistent with unofficial local production in the northwestern provinces during the late third century. |
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| Obverse lettering | IMP C TETRICVS PF AVG |
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| Additional information |
Barbarous radiates imitating Tetricus I flooded the northwestern provinces after 274 AD, when Aurelian's reunification of the empire left a vacuum in coin supply across Britain and Gaul. Local workshops — probably civilian rather than military — continued striking crude copies for years, possibly decades, after the Gallic Empire itself had ceased to exist. The prototypes were already debased billon; these imitations are often pure bronze, the silver content having been abandoned entirely.
This piece's 13 mm diameter places it among the smaller end of the barbarous radiate spectrum, a size reduction that tracks the progressive miniaturization seen as original prototypes passed further from the source.