Catalog
Antoninianus - Tetricus II PAX AVG; Barbarous imitation
| Issuer | Gallic Empire (Roman splinter states) |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 1.15 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The personification of Pax depicted standing left in a long draped robe, extending an olive branch forward in her right hand and holding a transverse sceptre in her left. The figure is rendered in a simplified, barbarous style with schematic drapery folds visible, consistent with unofficial imitative production. A fragmentary and corrupted Latin legend surrounds the type, representing a degenerate rendering of the PAX AVG prototype inscription. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | P V X AVG |
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| Additional information |
Tetricus II was elevated to Caesar by his father Tetricus I around 270 AD, and the pair ruled the Gallic Empire until their defeat by Aurelian at the Battle of Châlons in 274. The volume of barbarous imitations produced of their coinage is extraordinary — so many circulated across Gaul and Britain that distinguishing official from unofficial strikes becomes genuinely difficult at low weights like this one. At 1.15g, this piece sits well below even the degraded official standard, suggesting it was struck locally, probably in a small unofficial workshop copying whatever coins happened to be at hand.