Barbarous Coinage of the Fourth Century

    The term ‘barbarous coinage’ refers to crude imitative coins. There are numerous theories about the origins of these coins. This page is only about the VLPP imitative coinage. Different imitative coins from different times cannot all be explained in the same way, because of different circumstances. The circumstances in the early fourth century were unique. Some people believe that these coins were made just to alleviate a coin shortage, but the diocese of Hispaniae did not have a mint, and these coins rarely turn up there. Others believe that these coins were issued as pay for the military on the frontiers, but how long would Constantine have been able to issue inferior coinage with low, or no silver, before the troops, who put him in office, decided to remove him from power? Each of these theories may be right to some extent, but they do not look at the whole picture. Firmicus Maternus, who lived in the fourth century, even said that an alignment of the stars and planets influenced forgery. Maternus was probably wrong, though!
 

Mars allots 20 months to Mercury. When Mercury accepts these months he rouses certain dangers from things written, or he inflicts loss from forgeries. But often he will have enemies destroyed in various ways. If Mercury and Venus are in conjunction, in square aspect, or in opposition, they indicate the crimes of forgery and counterfeiting, especially if Mercury is found in the house or terms of Saturn.          Ancient Astrology: Theory and Practice 35:6.

      This period was a time of great change in the Roman Empire. Many Germanic people were living in Roman territory. The Roman Empire needed the influx of people to farm the land and protect the borders from other Germanic people. During the reign of Constantius I, “the whole nation of the Carpi was transferred”¹ to Roman land. Many of these barbarous tribes actually lived in the Roman Empire, often near the borders. The Romans called them foederati. The foederati  were allies of Rome, but not citizens. Circa 332, Constantine was victorious over the Goths. He converted them “from a lawless animal existence to one of reason and law. In this way the Goths learnt at last to serve Rome.”²This event happened later than the VLPP coinage, but demonstrates how, along the borders, the population was probably actually more ‘barbarian’ than Roman. Roman borders were very porous, and there was a lot of movement back and forth.

    One thing VLPP imitations have in common is the legends. These imitative coins almost never got the legends correct. This is no surprise though, since most of the barbarians could not read or write Latin--they did not even have their own written language. You also have to wonder what Germanic people, who did not read or write (and may not have even understood the concept), saw when they looked at the legends on a Roman coin. These people probably saw nothing more than curious designs or decorations. As a result, the engraver could use nonsensical symbols instead of Latin and no one cared. Remember also that by the Roman definition that is why they were barbarians. Barbarians were any people that did not read or write Latin (and especially those that wore pants!).³ The Romans used the term barbarian in a negative sense, though. It would probably be better to refer to this type of coinage as imitative. The people that produced these coins were not actually barbarians and really only wanted a better life for themselves and their family...and they saw opportunity in Rome.

    Tacitus (who wrote Germania in the first century A.D.) said that the Germanic tribes, “for the purposes of commerce, and are wont to distinguish and prefer certain of our coins.”⁴ So the Germanic people were quite used to using Roman money by the fourth century. Since these coins are struck, this would also mean that there were ‘mints’ that produced these ‘barbarous’ coins. Bastien even admitted that these coins came from “well organized work-shops.”⁵ This level of organization coupled with the designs seems to indicate 'barbarous' origins for these coins. If these coins were not minted by foederati in Roman territory or 'barbarians' across the borders, how long would an organized mint producing counterfeits in an area under Roman control have lasted? Counterfeiting was a crime that Rome did not look upon kindly.

    The large amount of these copies is “indicative of the heavy overtariffing of the official coinage.”⁶ This meant that people could make copies of the official coinage for less than the official money was worth. The official VLPP had as much as 3-5% silver, while the previous coinage that was de-monetized had around 1-2% silver.  If someone made imitations by melting down the old coins, a nice profit could be made.⁷ You could actually make money hand over fist!⁸ People at the time were very aware that bronze coins had silver in them. There is even a law from A.D. 349 aimed at mint employees removing silver from bronze coins.

We have learnt that many metalworkers (flaturarii) are purging the maiorina coin (maiorina pecunia) no less criminally than frequently by separating off the silver the bronze. Therefore, if anyone is caught in this operation from now on let him know that he is to suffer capital punishment, and indeed those who own the house or land that they are to be punished by the confiscation of property to the largitiones: Our Clemency is naturally to be informed of the names.⁹

    The stylistic differences on these coins makes more sense in the terms of a different culture. Some of the VLPP’s for example, bear little resemblance to the familiar figure of two victories holding a shield over an altar. To a Germanic engraver, this imagery would not have been quite so familiar, and so it became so highly abstract that one may have difficulty recognizing the original model. Maybe the engraver knew that the people that would use these coins would not know better or even care. So even if these coins were not minted by ‘barbarians’, it seems that the coins were meant to be used by the Germanic people.
 
 

    The VLPP helmet/crown of Constantine was also used by Germanic kings. The above picture of the Ostrogothic king Theodahad (534-536 A.D.) illustrates a very similar helmet as the VLPP type. There is no plume or cheek flaps, but the type is still recognizable, especially the stars to the right and left of the cross-bar. The VLPP type helmet became the most common type helmet in Europe in the sixth and seventh century-- called a spangenhelm. These helmets utilize jointed construction and are made of metal strips that comprise a frame that connect three to six bronze or steel plates-- that is why the VLPP helmets show so many rivets in the design. As late as the seventh century, a helmet was used in place of a crown in the coronation of Egbert, a King of Kent who ruled from 664 to 673.¹⁰
 
 

    The coins below are all examples of barbarous VLPP's in the style of the Siscia mint. Siscia was in the diocese of Pannonia. Imitations of Siscian coinage are the most commonly found examples; but barbarous imitations from all the mints exist. These coins come from the Danube region and many are found north of the river. All of the coins are struck, just like the official coins. The sizes are close to the official coinage, but on average tend to be about a millimeter smaller. The average weight of the imitatives is about .2 grams smaller than the official coinage. Using the chart above, I have assigned a type to each coin. This can be somewhat arbitrary, but it is still a nice system for classification-- if one wants to classify the coins. I have arranged the coins from least to most barbarous. The least barbarous could pass for an official issue, but the last coins would not have fooled anyone.
 

19x18mm     3.1gm  Laureate, helmeted, cuirassed  This is the best  imitative I have seen (in the Siscia style). The style is very good and the legends are almost correct. Type B
17mm 2.6gm  Helmeted and cuirassed bust left, holding spear.  this coin looks almost official  Type B
18x17mm    2.5gm   High-crested helmet, cuirassed, spear across right shoulder, shield on left arm  The style is decent and the obverse legend is close with CONSTNNT-NSNNG. The reverse is nicely done and the exergue reads ESIS and there is an I on the altar.  very similar to a coin found near Carnuntum13 Type C
16mm   2.3 gm   high crested helmet, cuir., spear across r. shoulder, shield on left arm  very similar to a coin found near Carnuntum14 note the similarity of the obverse to the previous coin. They must have been engraved by the same person  Type C
18mm      3.1gm  Laureate, helmeted, cuirassed  not bad except for the chin  Type C
17mm 2.2gm  Laureate, helmeted, cuirassed  decent style, legend is gibberish    SISD in exergue  Type C
18mm 3.7gm   high crested helmet, cuir., spear across r. shoulder, shield with a crude horseman on left arm  The style is decent and the legend is very close     ASIS in exergue  Type C
19x18mm    2.6gm   High-crested helmet, cuirassed, spear across right shoulder, shield on left arm  The style is decent, but the legends are off.  Type C
17mm 2gm  left facing laureate bust with a decent attempt at the obverse legend.  reverse legend is very crude except for the BSIS in the exergue.  Type D
17mm    2.4gm  Laureate, helmeted, cuirassed  Type D
18mm 2.9gm  Laureate, helmeted, cuirassed  Decent portrait  Type E
20x19mm     2.7gm  Laureate, helmeted, cuirassed  the legend is made up of IIIIIIIII's on the obverse and MMMM and NNNN's on the reverse.  Type E
15mm 2.4gm  Laureate, helmeted, cuirassed  Type E
16mm 3gm  Laureate, helmeted, cuirassed  Type E
18mm     2.5gm  Laureate bust facing left, helmeted, cuirassed  very crude with legend consisting mainly of I’s and O’s. there is what looks like an 8 on the shield.  note the similarity to the next coin. They must have been engraved by the same person  Type E
18mm     2.6gm  Laureate bust facing left, helmeted, cuirassed  very crude with legend consisting mainly of I’s and O’s. there is what looks like an 8 on the shield.  Type E
18mm 2.6gm  Laureate bust facing left, helmeted, cuirassed  very crude  Type E
19x18mm     3.0gm  Laureate, helmeted, cuirassed  the legend is completely made up of IIIIIIIII's  Type F
16mm     2.8gm  Laureate, helmeted, cuirassed  very crude  Type F
17mm        2.4gm  Laureate, helmeted, cuirassed  Type F
17mm 2.2gm  laureate bust facing left, with what may be a large shield  Legend consists of I’s and in the exergue N retrograde S N  this coin is an obverse and reverse die match with the next coin  Type F
16mm 2.6gm  laureate bust facing left, with what may be a large shield  Legend consists of I’s and in the exergue N retrograde S N  this coin is an obverse and reverse die match with the preceding coin  Type F

Suggested reading (arranged chronologically)

Andreas Alföldi, “Materialen zur Klassifizierung der gleichzeitigen Nachahmungen von römischen Münzen aus Ungarn und den Nachbärlandern.” Numizmatikai közlöny 25 (1926) : 37- 48, plates 1-6.
The author looked at 232 examples of imitations, many of which were Siscia VLPP imitations.

Arthur E. Robinson, “False and Imitation Roman Coins,” The Journal of Antiquarian Association of the British Isles 2, no. 3 (December 1931) : 97- 112; vol. 2, no. 4 (March 1932) : 171- 184; vol. 3, no. 1 (June 1932) : 3- 28.
The author looked at the holdings of museums in Great Britain and wrote about the imitations he found.

P. V. Hill, “Barbarous Imitations of Fourth-Century Roman Coins,” The Numismatic Chronicle 10 (1950) : 233- 270.
This work is compromised by the author's belief that some barbarous coins were struck as late as the fifth century.

Philip Grierson, “The Roman Law of Counterfeiting.” Essays in Roman Coinage Presented to Harold Mattingly. Oxford University Press (1956) : 240- 261.

J. P. C. Kent, “Barbarous Copies of Roman Coins: Their Significance for the British Historian and Archaeologist.” Limes-Studien 14 (1957) : 61- 68.
Kent argued that imitations were struck contemporary with the prototypes. By now, Hill agreed that barbs were not struck in the 5th century.

A. Ravetz, “Neutron Activation Analysis of Silver in Some Late Roman Copper Coins.” Archaeometry 6 (1963): 46- 55.
The author analyzed a few imitations of the Fel Temp galley type.

L. H. Cope and H. N. Billingham, “The Composition of 35 Roman Bronze Coins of the Period A.D. 284- 363.”  Historical Metallurgy 1 (1967) : 1- 6.
Three Fel Temp galley imitatives were analyzed

Katalin Biró-Sey, “Contemporary Roman Counterfeit Coins in the Niklovits Collection.” Folia Archaeologica 28 (1977) : 91- 101.
This article talks about 24 imitations from a large Hungarian collection, as well as imitations from the Transdanubia region in general.

J. P. Callu and J. P. Garnier, “Minimi constantiniens trouvés à Reims, Appendice II: Corpus des imitations.” Numismatica e Antichità Classiche 6 (1977) : 330- 315.
This is a corpus of documented finds of imitations issued after A.D. 330, including a map.

C. E. King, “The Alloy Content of Folles and Imitations from the Woodeaton Hoard.” PACT 1 (1977) : 86- 100.

J. N. Barrandon and C. Brenot. “Analyse de monnaies de bronze (318- 340) par activation neutronique à l’aide d’une source isotopique de Californium 252.” Collection de l'Ecole française de Rome 37 (1978) : 123- 144.
Analyzed 12 imitations of imitative VLPP's, silver content ranged from .10- 2.5 %, with an average of 1.53%. No indication of which mints they imitated though.

George C. Boon, “Counterfeit Coins in Roman Britain,” Coins and the Archaeologist, London: Seaby (1980) : 102- 188.
A great overview of counterfeiting and imitative coinage in Britain.

Pierre Bastien,  "Imitations of Late Roman Bronze Coins, 318-363" American Numismatic Society Museum Notes  30 (1985): 144.
This is the standard work on 4th century imitations.

Kevin Butcher, “The Maidenhatch Farm Hoard of Constantinian Copies” The Numismatic Chronicle 152 (1992): 160-174.
This hoard contained 193 coins from A.D. 330- 341.,and all but two were imitations,

C. L. Duncan, Coin Circulation in the Danubian and Balkan Provinces of the Roman Empire A.D. 294-578. London: Royal Numismatic Society, 1993.

Matthias Pfisterer and Heinz Winter, “Eine Sammlung barbarisierter spätrömischer Münzen aus Carnuntum,” Mitteilungen der Österreichischen Numismatische Gesellschaft volume 41, no.2 (2001) :27-41 and volume 41, no. 3 (2001) : 47- 61.
The authors wrote about  52 imitations found near Carnuntum, which included 37 VLPP imitations.

¹Aurelius Victor, De Caesaribus 39: 28.

² Eusebius, Life of Constantine book IV, 5.

³“Within the City of Rome no person shall wear either trousers or boots. But if any man after the issuance of this regulation of Our Clemency should obstinately persist in such contumacy, he shall be punished according as his legal status permits and expelled from our sacred City.”  Codex Theodosianus 14.10.3 June 6, 399.

⁴Tacitus, The Agricola and The Germania, translated by H. Mattingly, Penguin Books (1970): 105.
"The Germans however adjoining to our frontiers value gold and silver for the purposes of commerce, and are wont to distinguish and prefer certain of our coins. They who live more remote are more primitive and simple in their dealings, and exchange one commodity for another. The money which they like is the old and long known, that indented, or that impressed with a chariot and two horses. Silver too is what they seek more than gold, from no fondness or preference, but because small pieces are more ready in purchasing things cheap and common."

⁵ Pierre Bastien, "Imitations of Late Roman Bronze Coins, 318-363" American Numismatic Society Museum Notes  30 (1985): 144.

⁶ George C. Boon, “Counterfeit Coins in Roman Britain,”  Coins and the Archaeologist, London: Seaby (1980) : 137.

⁷ J. Barrandon & J. P. Callu & C. Brenot in their article, "The Analysis of Constantinian Coins (A.D. 313-40) By Non-Destructive Californium 252 Activation Analysis," Archaeometry 19 (1977): 173-186, found that examples of the VLPP imitative from Trier averaged less than 2% silver.

⁸I heard that the phrase "make money hand over fist" referred to the minting practice of holding the die in your fist and striking with a hammer in your other hand. I cannot verify the validity of this, though!

⁹Law of February 12, 349 A.D., CTh IX. 21. 6, from the Emperor Constantius II (337-361) to the Praetorian Prefect Limenius. Adapted from Pharr translation in the book by Michael F. Hendy, Studies in the Byzantine Monetary Economy, Circa 300-1450. Cambridge University Press, 1985, page 470.

¹⁰ Andreas Alföldi, “The Helmet of Constantine with the Christian Monogram.” The Journal of Roman Studies 22 (1932) : 16.

¹¹ The chart is from the article by  Arthur E. Robinson in “False and Imitation Roman Coins.” The Journal of Antiquarian Association of the British Isles 2, no. 4 (1932) : 171- 184. Howard Mattingly gave Robinson advice for his chart.

¹² The map is from the article written by J. P. Callu and J. P. Garnier. “Minimi constantiniens trouvés à Reims, Appendice II: Corpus des imitations.” Numismatica e Antichità Classiche 6 (1977) : 330- 315. As stated, this map is the locations of imitations from A.D. 330- 348.  The article lists the locations and types of imitations found, and the publication information of the finds, i.e. Numismatic Chronicle.

¹³ Matthias Pfisterer and Heinz Winter, “Eine Sammlung barbarisierter spätrömischer Münzen aus Carnuntum,” Mitteilungen der Österreichischen Numismatische Gesellschaft volume 41, no.2 (2001) :27-41 and volume 41. The authors wrote about  52 imitations found near Carnuntum, which included 37 VLPP imitations. The two coins on this page are very close in style to the obverse of  coin number 36 in the article. It weighed 1.7 grams and had an exergue of dot SIS.