Roman Antoninianus Coins

Inv. No.: c159
Provenance: Romano-British
Date: late third century A.D.
Weight: 10.42g
 
Obv.: Head, radiate.

Rev.: Indistinguishable.

A crude imitation of the official Roman antoninianus. Such coins are usually called “barbarous radiates”. In Britain most of the Roman imperial coinage between A.D. 258 and 296 was copied. Generally, the worse the imitation, the later it should be dated: most of the later imitations were copied not from the official coinage, but from copies themselves. The most compelling reason for the striking of “barbarous radiates” was the need for small change, in which the official coinage was sadly lacking. The subject is thoroughly discussed by P.V. Hill in CRB, Appendix II, pp. 83-86.