Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Denarius - Imitating Trajan, 98-117
| Issuer | Uncertain Germanic tribes |
|---|---|
| Year | 150-250 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Aureus (circa 150-325) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Laureate bust of Trajan facing right, rendered in a barbarous imitative style with simplified facial features. The effigy displays a radiate or laureate head with slightly crude workmanship characteristic of Germanic tribal copies. A degenerate legend surrounds the bust, composed of pseudo-Latin letterforms imitating the imperial titulature of Trajan. The overall style reflects a provincial or barbarous imitation of Roman denarii struck under Trajan (98-117 AD), with legible but distorted epigraphic elements. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | [...]AIICICNOOCVAIVVVIMAVCCCIC[...] |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Barbarous imitations of Trajan's denarii were struck well after his death, at a point when Roman silver had become the dominant trading currency across the Rhine and Danube frontiers. The Germanic tribes producing these pieces had no interest in commemorating a dead emperor — they were exploiting the coin's established acceptance value among neighboring peoples and Roman traders alike. Trajan's types were among the most copied, likely because they remained in heavy circulation long after issue.
Silver content in these imitations varies considerably and often falls short of contemporary official issues, suggesting selective melting and restrike rather than fresh silver sourcing.