Crude unreadable inscription, bearded radiate and draped bust right / Crude inscription, uncertain deity standing. Light brown patina, beautiful style, nicer than the scan, 9mm, 0.37 grams. Scarce. Found in a hoard in Northern France.

High quality tiny minim - coins of this size are rarely found in such high quality!

Ancient barbarous radiates seem to have been produced between the reigns of Claudius II and ca.274 AD, when Aurelian banned the circulation of these small imitative bronzes throughout the Empire. It is likely that at least some of the barbarous radiates were produced after 274 AD all the way into the early 280's. The value of the barbarous imitations was almost certainly not equal to their official counterparts - they probably saw only local limited circulation, and fulfilled the role of token coinage in times of an acute coin shortage.