Nummus with cross

These tiny bronzes were issued under Geiseric, who sacked Rome in 455 and spent decades terrorizing Mediterranean shipping from his base at Carthage. The Vandals struck no gold or silver in their own name during this period, leaving the nummus — Rome's most debased small change — as the only coin they produced. It is a striking admission that their economy ran on the remnants of late Roman infrastructure rather than anything they built themselves.