Barbarous Radiate of Tetricus I

[Al Kowsky]

Nine days ago I won the Barbarous Radiate pictured below from the Heritage auction of the Historical Scholar Collection. This collection was an eclectic mix of many different coin types, ancient & modern, from many different countries. Unfortunately many of the ancient coins had been tooled, filled, brushed, repatinated, or monkeyed around with in some way ☹️. Apparently the Historical Scholar wasn't too fussy with what he added to his collection or he just didn't know what he was buying. Never the less, I found this coin very interesting & didn't have a Barbarous Radiate from this era, so I left a pre-bid & ended up winning the coin ☺️. The Historical Scholar acquired this coin from Glenn Woods, & it came with his dealer's tag. Despite it's ugliness, the coin has a certain charm as many of these Barbarous Radiates do 😍.

BARBAROUS ISSUE. Tetricus I, (AD 271-274), Romano-Gallic Empire. AE Unit: 18 mm, 7 h. Obverse: Radiate & draped bust of Tetricus I; IMP TETRICVS P F AVG. Reverse: Cullulus, aspergillum, oenochoe, knife & lituus; PIETAS AVGG.

The engraver did a pretty fair job of copying the obverse inscription but failed miserably on the reverse 😝. The obverse & reverse designs on this coin never existed on the official issues, but did appear on the coins of Tetricus II. Pictured below for comparison are two official issues, courtesy of CNG, from auctions 486 & 487. 

Numus Forums members are welcome to post any interesting Barbarous Radiates from their collection ☺️.

 

[shanxi]

Nice, ugly new coin you have there !

 

12 minutes ago, Al Kowsky said:

Numus Forums members are welcome to post

Oh, I'm not a Numus Forums member, but but I post anyway 

Barbarous Radiate, imitating Tetricus I
Obv: …ICVS M / radiate head right
Rev: soldier standing, holding spear, C
AE, 1.96g, 17mm
Ref.: Cf. RIC 5b, p.411,148 ?

 

Edited September 23, 2022 by shanxi

[maridvnvm]

I have a batch of barbarous radiates in my to me processed pile. The only one to have made it through photography thus far is:-

Tetricus II copy - Barbarous radiate copy of Antoninianus

Barbarous imitation of Antoninianus
Obv:– S (sic) P E TETRICVS CAES, radiate and draped bust right
Rev:– PIETAS AVGVSTOR, Sacrificial implements, spinkler, simpulum, jug and lituus
Barbarous imitation
Reference:– Copies RIC 259; Elmer 773, 777; AGK (corr.) 5a;

 

[Al Kowsky]

40 minutes ago, shanxi said:

Nice, ugly new coin you have there !

 

Oh, I'm not a Numus Forums member, but but I post anyway 

Barbarous Radiate, imitating Tetricus I
Obv: …ICVS M / radiate head right
Rev: soldier standing, holding spear, C
AE, 1.96g, 17mm
Ref.: Cf. RIC 5b, p.411,148 ?

 

shanxi, I love your Barbarous radiate 😍. The portrait of Tetricus looks better than many of the official issues I've seen 🤣.

[Al Kowsky]

9 minutes ago, maridvnvm said:

I have a batch of barbarous radiates in my to me processed pile. The only one to have made it through photography thus far is:-

Tetricus II copy - Barbarous radiate copy of Antoninianus

Barbarous imitation of Antoninianus
Obv:– S (sic) P E TETRICVS CAES, radiate and draped bust right
Rev:– PIETAS AVGVSTOR, Sacrificial implements, spinkler, simpulum, jug and lituus
Barbarous imitation
Reference:– Copies RIC 259; Elmer 773, 777; AGK (corr.) 5a;

 

Martin, That's an unusually fine copy of the official issue 🤨.

[John Conduitt]

I have quite a few barbarous radiates, mostly of Tetricus I or II, if it's possible to work out who they are.

Tetricus I Barbarous Radiate, 274-280

Imitating Colonia Agrippinensis. Bronze, 13mm, 0.86g. Radiate head left; (IMP TET)RICVS (P F AVG). Salus standing facing, head left; SA(LVS AVGG) (cf RIC V2, 127). From the Whitchurch (Somerset) Hoard.

Tetricus II Barbarous Radiate, 273-280

Imitating Cologne. Bronze, 16mm, 2.41g. Radiate beardless? bust right, very crude letters. Equitas standing, holding scales and cornucopia; AEQ[UITAS AVG]. Found in Britain.

[Al Kowsky]

49 minutes ago, John Conduitt said:

I have quite a few barbarous radiates, mostly of Tetricus I or II, if it's possible to work out who they are.

Tetricus I Barbarous Radiate, 274-280

Imitating Colonia Agrippinensis. Bronze, 13mm, 0.86g. Radiate head left; (IMP TET)RICVS (P F AVG). Salus standing facing, head left; SA(LVS AVGG) (cf RIC V2, 127). From the Whitchurch (Somerset) Hoard.

Tetricus II Barbarous Radiate, 273-280

Imitating Cologne. Bronze, 16mm, 2.41g. Radiate beardless? bust right, very crude letters. Equitas standing, holding scales and cornucopia; AEQ[UITAS AVG]. Found in Britain.

John, Thanks for posting these grotesque Barbarous Radiates 😂. These coins have the added interest & importance of being found in Britain 🤩.

[Edessa]

Love these Barbarous Radiates also. The Royal Numismatic Society series "Coin Hoards" has some great sections on British hoards of radiates and minims if you ever run across these volumes.

Tetricus II (?), as Caesar. Barbaric imitation, late 3rd-early 4th centuries AD. Ӕ Antoninianus (12mm, 0.70g, 12h). Irregular mint. Obv: No legend; Radiate bust right. Rev: No legend; Pax (?) standing left holding standard. Very Fine for type, nice patina. Ex Warren Esty.

Tetricus II, as Caesar. Barbaric imitation, late 3rd-early 4th centuries AD. Ӕ Antoninianus (14mm, 0.87g ,7h). Irregular mint. Obv: ...TETRICVS DS AVG (sic); Radiate and draped bust right. Rev: ...AVG; Pax (?) standing left holding standard. Very Fine for type, nice patina. Ex Warren Esty.

[wittwolff]

Here one of me where the engraver did a not so bad job. The reverse features a Pax that doesnt look much worse than the official coins:

 

[DLTcoins]

The dating of 'barbarous radiates' can be narrowed much more than the NGC label suggests. The earliest possible date for any imitation is of course the date of introduction of the prototype. In the case of the op, while the obverse depicts Tetricus I, the reverse prototype (PIETAS AVGG) belongs to Tetricus II, c. 273. On the continent, the overall production of 'barbarous radiates' ceased soon after the reform of Aurelian, c. 275. For reasons not entirely clear, the reformed coins of Aurelian do not seem to have reached Britain in significant numbers. The phenomenon is believed to have continued there until about the time of Carinus' British campaign, c. 283. So for the op, c. 273 to 275/283.

Edited September 23, 2022 by DLTcoins

[Al Kowsky]

3 hours ago, Edessa said:

Love these Barbarous Radiates also. The Royal Numismatic Society series "Coin Hoards" has some great sections on British hoards of radiates and minims if you ever run across these volumes.

Tetricus II (?), as Caesar. Barbaric imitation, late 3rd-early 4th centuries AD. Ӕ Antoninianus (12mm, 0.70g, 12h). Irregular mint. Obv: No legend; Radiate bust right. Rev: No legend; Pax (?) standing left holding standard. Very Fine for type, nice patina. Ex Warren Esty.

Tetricus II, as Caesar. Barbaric imitation, late 3rd-early 4th centuries AD. Ӕ Antoninianus (14mm, 0.87g ,7h). Irregular mint. Obv: ...TETRICVS DS AVG (sic); Radiate and draped bust right. Rev: ...AVG; Pax (?) standing left holding standard. Very Fine for type, nice patina. Ex Warren Esty.

Two wonderful coins ☺️. The 1st coin appears to be sporting a beard, so it's probably the old man & not the son.

[Al Kowsky]

3 hours ago, wittwolff said:

Here one of me where the engraver did a not so bad job. The reverse features a Pax that doesnt look much worse than the official coins:

 

That's a handsome coin that probably passed as the real thing back then ☺️.

[Al Kowsky]

1 hour ago, DLTcoins said:

The dating of 'barbarous radiates' can be narrowed much more than the NGC label suggests. The earliest possible date for any imitation is of course the date of introduction of the prototype. In the case of the op, while the obverse depicts Tetricus I, the reverse prototype (PIETAS AVGG) belongs to Tetricus II, c. 273. On the continent, the overall production of 'barbarous radiates' ceased soon after the reform of Aurelian, c. 275. For reasons not entirely clear, the reformed coins of Aurelian do not seem to have reached Britain in significant numbers. The phenomenon is believed to have continued there until about the time of Carinus' British campaign, c. 283. So for the op, c. 273 to 275/283.

DLT. Many thanks for the added research ☺️!

[Edessa]

21 minutes ago, Al Kowsky said:

Two wonderful coins ☺️. The 1st coin appears to be sporting a beard, so it's probably the old man & not the son.

Good point. I will change my attribution.

[Severus Alexander]

I can see why that one caught your eye, @Al Kowsky!  I love the crude style on both obverse and reverse.

Here's a small one (13mm and 1.5g) that grabbed me due to an unusual style that also showed some skill:

Quite the bushy beard on Tetricus, makes him look like Santa!  I guess it's a Christmas barbarous radiate. 🙂 

[Harry G]

Here are a few of my more interesting barbarous radiates!

Tetricus I, reverse of Marius (clasped hands) reverse. Unfortunately corroded.

 

Tetricus II antoninianus "as CESAR". Never seen one that (nearly) fully spells out his title before.

 

Tetricus I, CONSECRATIO (altar). Style looks nearly official, but a little off.

[Orange Julius]

@Harry G ...you have too good of an eye on those 3rd century coins.... leave some for ME!! haha. 

[Al Kowsky]

5 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

I can see why that one caught your eye, @Al Kowsky!  I love the crude style on both obverse and reverse.

Here's a small one (13mm and 1.5g) that grabbed me due to an unusual style that also showed some skill:

Quite the bushy beard on Tetricus, makes him look like Santa!  I guess it's a Christmas barbarous radiate. 🙂 

S.A., Wonderful portrait & patina on that coin ☺️.

[Al Kowsky]

2 hours ago, Harry G said:

Here are a few of my more interesting barbarous radiates!

Tetricus I, reverse of Marius (clasped hands) reverse. Unfortunately corroded.

 

Tetricus II antoninianus "as CESAR". Never seen one that (nearly) fully spells out his title before.

 

Tetricus I, CONSECRATIO (altar). Style looks nearly official, but a little off.

H.G. The 2nd & 3rd coins are exceptional ☺️. If I was the mint director for Tetricus, I'd hire the engraver of the 3rd coin to work for me 🤔.

[Barzus]

Nice coins! Barbaric issu are my only solution to have consecration coins for Tetricus 🙂

 

[sunir caM]

Here is a coin that whilst not barbarous is still unofficial.

The coin has an Obverse of Claudius ii & Reverse of Tetricus, both could pass as official and i am pretty convinced that the Obverse is indeed official.

The Reverse is more confusing, there are at least 2 overstrikes OR the die has been re-cut more than once.

Either way it is still an oddity having Claude paired with a Tetricus AVGG. (Note the 2nd G of AVGG & Flowers above R arm

 

)

[Al Kowsky]

15 hours ago, Barzus said:

Nice coins! Barbaric issu are my only solution to have consecration coins for Tetricus 🙂

 

Barzus, Thanks for posting this interesting & fascinating group of Barbarous Radiates ☺️! I can't imagine the counterfeiters were aware of the significance of the reverse designs on these coins 🤔. From all the different  examples I've seen posted on this thread a collector could assemble a large specialty collection of Tetricus Barbarous Radiates 🤨.

[Al Kowsky]

6 hours ago, sunir caM said:

Here is a coin that whilst not barbarous is still unofficial.

The coin has an Obverse of Claudius ii & Reverse of Tetricus, both could pass as official and i am pretty convinced that the Obverse is indeed official.

The Reverse is more confusing, there are at least 2 overstrikes OR the die has been re-cut more than once.

Either way it is still an oddity having Claude paired with a Tetricus AVGG. (Note the 2nd G of AVGG & Flowers above R arm

 

)

sunir., I think one word can describe this coin, bewildering. Thanks for posting this oddity ☺️. I do think this coin could fall within the range of Barbarous Radiates, a rather unique one too 😏. Let's not forget, the barbarians who created these coins probably had no comprehension of the Latin language, & their intended target for circulation probably didn't either. So if the coins closely resembled official issues, as this coin does, their purpose was accomplished 😤.

[Severus Alexander]

I just COULDN'T resist this dinosaur from this morning 😜:

Question: what type of dino is it?  Parasaurolophus? Deinonychus? Or this Secernosaurus looks like a good bet! 

Some kind of duck-billed species at any rate, surely!  What's more, proof that humans and dinos co-existed!  😆

[Ursus]

20 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

I just COULDN'T resist this dinosaur from this morning 😜:

That is a wonderful dinosaur coin! I can absolutely see why you bid on it. Had I followed this Savoca auction, I might have done the same...

Here is my favorite barbarous radiate, showing one of Santa's elfs riding on Rudolph the Reindeer: