Unknown Æ - Imitating Nero, 54-68

Germanic imitations of Roman Æ coinage were not attempts at counterfeiting in any modern sense — Roman bronzes circulated freely across the Rhine frontier, and local copies filled gaps where supply from imperial mints fell short. Nero's bronzes were among the most widely copied, likely because of their broad circulation in the northwestern provinces during and after his reign. The blundered legends and abstracted portraiture typical of these pieces reflect craftsmen working from worn or secondhand exemplars rather than official dies.