antoninianus 270-273 AD Crude barbarous of Tetricus I , Salus type, Gallo-Romans

Radiate bust of Tetricus I right, crude inscriptions // Salus standing left. 17mm, 2.0 grams.

Ancient British barbarous radiates were probably produced from the reign of Victorinus (269–271 AD) until about 274 AD, when the Gallic Empire was reunited with the Roman Empire and Emperor Aurelian sought to suppress the circulation of unofficial imitative coinage. However, it is likely that at least some barbarous radiates continued to be struck into the late 270s and perhaps even the early 280s. These crude imitations almost certainly did not circulate at the same value as official antoniniani; instead, they appear to have served as locally accepted token coinage, helping to alleviate severe shortages of small change in Roman Britain.

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