I found this during my time coin roll hunting here. My coins come in bags instead of boxes, so finding odd-sized coins was not too unusual. This one, however, stood out as it is smaller than a dime. I figured the ancient collectors would appreciate a newbie’s efforts as I have seen ancient coins like this before, but couldn’t remember any of the rulers. What did I do? I typed “spiked head ancient coin” into google, which then led me to learning this is called a radiant crown. I then googled that and the closest bronze coin I could find was a Diocletian. I know this is pretty poor photography and the coin is almost worn away, but any chance this can be confirmed to be a legitimate coin and/or attributed?
Just taking a wild guess here, but I would say Tetricus (or Victorinus) - these ruled the so-called Gallic Kingdom, a breakaway area in Gaul during the 3rd century. The small bronze radiates are abundant, and the profile on yours looks like Tetricus to me. Or it could be one of the "barbarous radiates" that were minted during that time. But again, just guessing. Here is an example of Tetricus in better-than-average shape:
Thanks! This does look closer with the pointed chin that mine has. I’ll see what others have to say. I’ll probably take it to a coin show down the road and try to see what folks think. If this is a true ancient coin, it would be my oldest find ever
Tetricus I seems like a good guess It's hard to say since the coin is so worn but it could be either an official issue or a barbarous issue, but either way is probably him.
Where would one read up on the difference in official or barbarous issues? I might not be able to determine which it was (if either), but I do like to learn about coins in my collection.
These radiates can be tough to attribute, especially in the condition yours is in - there is just not enough detail left to make a firm identification, I'm guessing. On the other hand, it is pretty cool you found an ancient in a lot like this. There was a recent thread here on CT about ancient coins circulating into modern times (and I read once that the meter-readers of Los Angeles once found a late Roman bronze while cleaning out the money from parking meters - unfortunately I've lost the reference, so it is an "urban legend"). Augustus coins is a great site to visit for ancients in general - and there is a barbarous radiate section: http://augustuscoins.com/BarbarousRadiates.html They even made Wikipedia! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbarous_radiate
This is not a place for reading words but looking at every coin of each ruler from that period that are posted online would go a long way to familiarize yourself with the options. The matter of official vs. barbarous is often weight and size. Allowing for the possibility of an official coin being chipped and worn makes it hard to give a diameter or weight but in hand comparison of the size of the head might suggest one or the other. There will be no 100% certain answer but the exercise will be good for you the next time the question comes up. If I had to guess right now I might go for barbarous Victorinus but would not go over about a one in three chance of that being right. Have fun!
A Victorinus says Dougsmit, and it could also be him, so take your pick, or you can write this attribution down: Victorinus or Tetricus I AE Antoninianus Gallic Empire Circa 268-274 AD Obverse: radiate crown of emperor facing right Reverse: Unidentified deity facing left Note: May possibly be barbarous. I think that's as good as you'll be able to get given how badly worn the coin is. Anyway, here is my official Victoriatus. Ain't it a beauty?
Beautiful coin and thanks for the attribution! I think I’m going to go with Victoriatus, as the hands/arms are higher and it seems to match reverses better.
