Catalog
Unknown Æ - Imitating Tiberius, 14-37
| Issuer | Uncertain Germanic tribes |
|---|---|
| Year | 150-250 |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Crude barbarian imitation of a laureate bust of Tiberius facing right, rendered in a schematic, degenerate style characteristic of Germanic provincial copies. The portrait retains the general outline of an imperial effigy with a stylized neck and facial profile, though the workmanship is rough and the features are simplified. A garbled Latin legend runs around the periphery, imitating the imperial titulature of Tiberius but rendered in an illiterate or debased form. The overall style reflects a second- or third-generation copy far removed from the Lugdunum prototype. |
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| Reverse description | Crude barbarian imitation of the Ara Romae et Augusti reverse type, copying the altar coinage struck at Lugdunum under Tiberius. The central design depicts a schematic altar or cult monument flanked by two standing figures, rendered in a highly stylised and degenerate manner. Additional crude figures or symbols appear in the upper field. The composition broadly reflects the twin-priest or Victory flanking the altar motif of the original Lugdunum issues, though execution is irregular and the details are heavily distorted. A garbled legend at the base of the reverse imitates the ROMAE ET AUGUSTO inscription of the prototype. |
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| Additional information |
Germanic copies of Roman aes circulated widely east of the Rhine during the second and third centuries, produced by communities with no minting infrastructure but enough exposure to Roman coinage to recognize its transactional utility. These imitations were not forgeries in any meaningful sense — they served local exchange networks where the iconographic authority of Rome mattered more than imperial sanction.
Tiberius-type prototypes were copied well past their original issue date, sometimes by a century or more, which makes precise attribution nearly impossible without die linkage studies.