Germanic tribe (Goths?); Valentinian III; solidus - imitation; barbaric mint (Scandinavia?); 430-455 AD or later.
Obv. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Valentinian III to the right. DN PΔ VΔLENTI - NIΔNVS PF AVG (slight barbarization).
Rv. The emperor standing, facing forward, the right foot resting on an androcephalic serpent, holding a long cross in the right hand and Victory with a wreath standing on a globe in the left hand. VICTORI - AVGGG around, R - V in fields, CONOↃ in the exergue (slight barbarization).
Gold, 4.60 g, 21 mm, 12h. For the original, see RIC X p. 365 no. 2010-1, p. 366 no. 2018-9, and p. 367 no. 2024; for barbarian imitations, see RIC X p. 453 no. 3713 and 3714-19 attributed to the Visigoths in Gaul, Fagerlie 88-97 (Valentinian III) and 23-27 (Honorius); Scandinavian type 1b according to S. Fischer 2021.
Grade: XF.
An imitation solidus of Valentinian III from the mint of Ravenna. The overall style is well executed. There is a slight deformation of the legend on the obverse, and on the reverse, the most noticeable issue is the CONOↃ instead of COMOB and the very schematic representation of Victory. Imitations of this type are usually attributed to the Visigoths, but also to other groups like the Franks or Burgundians from the former Gaul region. Findings of such imitations in the western Baltic Sea basin suggest the possibility of local production, possibly in Scandinavia. It is in this region that the distortion of COMOB/CONOB to CONOↃ is most frequently encountered.
