Tetricus I was the last ruler of the breakaway Gallic Empire, surrendering to Aurelian in 274 AD — after which, unusually, he was pardoned and appointed a provincial governor. The barbarous radiates imitating his coinage were struck clandestinely across Britain and northern Gaul long after reunification, filling a vacuum left when legitimate antoniniani became scarce in the northwest. Some hoards from Roman Britain contain these imitations in quantities exceeding official issues, suggesting local acceptance rather than mere desperation.
Tetricus I was the last ruler of the breakaway Gallic Empire, surrendering to Aurelian in 274 AD — after which, unusually, he was pardoned and appointed a provincial governor. The barbarous radiates imitating his coinage were struck clandestinely across Britain and northern Gaul long after reunification, filling a vacuum left when legitimate antoniniani became scarce in the northwest. Some hoards from Roman Britain contain these imitations in quantities exceeding official issues, suggesting local acceptance rather than mere desperation.