Here's a recent purchase, a Celtic imitation of an AE3 Constantine I with 2 Victories on reverse. I'd love to know more about the coin this was imitating, or any other info about this coin. Also, post any of your contemporary imitations (I know some of you have some good ones with lots of I's and O's)!
@Victor_Clark is the person to ask about these... I believe he's compiling quite the collection. I really like the bold, simplified design on yours, and the legend is great. Here's my best one: Most of them (including yours [as you note] and mine) are imitating the VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP type of Constantine I, usually the Siscia mint (when the imitated legend is recognizable in the mintmark). Here are my notes on this coin: "These imitations were struck in the Balkans/Danube region, after Constantine's reform of the coinage increased the silver content from 1-3% to 3-5%. Forgeries were common (using metal from older coins with lower silver content), but these are clearly imitative rather than forgeries - perhaps inspired by the forgeries, however. It is likely that they were minted and used by German tribes in the border areas, e.g. the Goths, before the first Gothic war in 367." I love imitations of Roman coins. Right now I'm into this sort of thing from South India, evidence for Roman-Indian trade via the Red Sea : It would have been used in the 4th century or later by the Tamil people under the Kalabhra dynasty. As you can maybe see, it's imitating a GLORIA EXERCITVS type with the two soldiers and standard. This one has a very Roman looking bust, but some other busts look rather different: These seem pretty hard to find, and there's not much info on them. I believe @FitzNigel also has a cool Indian imitation, and @dougsmit has a much earlier one that I'd like to get an example of.
Good Memory SA! Sri Lanka Anon. 5th C. A.D. AE Indo-Roman imitative, 13.12mm x 0.7 grams Obv.: Bust right, with dots representing legend Rev.: Cross within wreath
Here's an example of an official coin from Siscia, this one with a left-facing bust . . . Siscia mint, A.D. 319-320 RIC 95, variant Obv: IMP CONSTANT-INVS AVG Rev: VICT[dot] LAETAE PRINC PERP - Two Victories, facing each other, holding shield inscribed VOT/PR over altar ΓSIS[star] in exergue; S in altar. 20 x 18 mm, 3.2 g. . . . and its imitation (notice the "SIS" in the exergue): Unknown mint, 4th century A.D. Barbarous imitation of Constantine the Great, VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP reverse type. Obv: Gibberish - Bust, left, in high-crested helmet, spear over right shoulder, shield over left. Rev: Gibberish - Two Victories, facing each other, holding inscribed shield over altar. 17 mm, 2.1 g.
My personal notes on these repeat SA's citing of Victor: On the widespread counterfeiting or “unofficial striking” of this VLPP type, Victor Clark has written that “unofficial VLPP were struck after the monetary reforms of 318 that introduced the official VLPP that had circa 4 percent silver. For some regions, the VLPP was the only coin struck in bronze (like Siscia) for a few years, so no surprise it was copied.” Victor believes this particular wave of counterfeiting extended from 318-330 A.D. I've heard anecdotally that these imitations are more highly valued in Europe than in the U.S., though they are generally inexpensive either way, unless exceptional. I think they're fascinating, and I try to pick one up now and again if I find one cheap.
I lack the ability to look at such coins and say 'Celtic' as opposed to 'Indian' or several places in-between. Several people here have shown Roman Republican copies usually assigned to the Dacian region (?). I have none of those. My first is the Tiberius. At least a dozen of these were found in India and all I have seen are from the same die set. You can tell the original coin being copied was off center on the obverse since the copy dies lacked certain letters. Tiberius AR denarius There are several mid to late 2nd century Roman copies around but I do not know if they all come from one region or where any were found. These have been around a while so it is not a recent find. Faustina I AR denarius Commodus AR denarius Septimius Severus AR denarius Later, we get the copies called Barbarous radiates. Like all copies, these vary from close to official style to barely recognizable scraps of metal. I have no idea how anyone is ever going to be able to assign these to a time and place in a meaningful way. Guessing is not hard. There are many people doing that. This is my only Barbarous radiate with a left facing bust. The reverse figure holds a rudder. I'll skip Constantine who was well covered by others and go to Constantius II or similar Falling Horseman clearly marked as being made at the IIIIII mint. There are some periods where it is really hard to tell whether a coin is from a bad day at the regular mint or a good barbarous effort. Postumus, Carausius and Magnentius often fall in this category. Below is a Decentius that is in no danger of being confused with official mint product. Yes, I like unofficial ancient coins and there are a million of them out there that are rejected by most collectors and dealers. They may be interesting but make a terrible field of study for people who require absolute answers to every question. The inevitable question is how we tell ancient trash from modern fakes. We do the best we can.
Superb variety of imitations and great post, Doug! Maybe ancient Illinois? Likewise. This recent purchase caused me to add a handful to my vcoins watchlist.
One of these appeared in an auction not too long ago and I wanted it. I did not win... it went surprisingly high!
A fact of auctions: We win things that go for less than we think they are worth while our losses seem to go surprisingly high. My Tiberius went for $100 thirty years ago and that made me a fool in the eyes of most people then. I've seen about a dozen in the years since but the demand has remained low.
Regarding the original coin in this topic, it is not correct to call it a Celtic coin; though I know it is done often enough, especially on eBay. The use of the term Celtic or barbarous is romanticized. The truth is, we actually don't know who minted these coins. At best we can only speculate based on where the coins were found. These coins would have been struck somewhere that a demand existed and generally would not have traveled far from their place of minting. These coins turn up all over and copy all the mints that struck VLPP's at the time. Many different people struck these coins, all over the Empire, including, I'm sure, Roman citizens and barbarians. here is a neat example copying Ticinum and an official example
Great call out, Victor. And like you said, I was just relying on what it was told to me as... I'm happily more enlightened now.
Here are a couple of my favourites - Constantine I - Sarmatia Devicta ? Reverse Retrograde Magnentius - VLPP
Here goes one of my barbarous, that I have a pic available in my records: Bronze barbarous AE 3, cf. RIC VII Siscia 47 ff. (official, Siscia mint), 2.4g, 17.9mm, after 318 A.D.; obverse IMP CONSTANTINVS P F AVG (blundered), laureate, helmeted and cuirassed bust left; reverse VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERP (blundered), two Victories holding shield over altar.
