Corrupt letters, pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust facing right and surrounded by mostly illegible legend // Victory standing left, holding wreath, surrounded by illegible legend. 9mm, 0.77 grams. Carthage mint? BMC Vandal#8ff; Grierson #19-20, 31-32; Numista 145944.

High grade example, rare this nice.

Minted during the reigns of Gunthamund, Thrasamund and Hilderic, though the names of the rulers are nearly never discernable.

The so-called Vandalic “anonymous” bronze coins of the 5th century were struck under the Germanic Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, especially after the capture of Carthage in 439 CE. These small AE4 issues closely imitated late Roman imperial bronzes, particularly those of the Western emperors such as Valentinian III, but they typically replaced official inscriptions with blundered, abbreviated, or completely unreadable legends. The reverse commonly shows Victory advancing left holding a wreath and palm, a recycled Roman motif that persisted in degraded form, or crosses or camp-gates, derived from the contemporary Roman coins of Valentinian III. Despite their crude appearance, these coins functioned as practical local currency, illustrating both the continuity of Roman monetary imagery and the gradual breakdown of imperial standards under Vandal rule.