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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ocatarinetabellatchitchix, post: 7940093, member: 99554&quot;]The <b>minims</b> are local imitations or barbaric strikes with very light weight. These imitations of very particular fabrications, very stylized, are quite recognizable and do not seem to relate to a particular group. Under the Gallic Empire, engravers seized Roman or Gallo-Roman prototypes, imitated them, copied them and falsified them to the delight of modern numismatists. Most of it was struck in Gaul, Brittany and Hispania, but also in the territories bordering the Roman Limes. These are coins of necessity, created by &quot;legal&quot; workshops out of control. These coins, often much smaller in size and weight than the norm, are divided into <b>minims</b> - around 15mm and approximately 2g - and <b>minimissim</b> (not sure what is the exact term in English...) - 10mm and less and lighter than 1g. There are thousands of them, which imitate coins that still circulated such as Gallienus, Claudius the Gothicus, Postumus, Victorinus and especially the two Tetricus. Some are very well imitated, others much more rudimentary. They are classified by reverse type in the AGK. The legends are often degenerate, made of lines (I, /,) and drawings more or less representative of the originals types. We often find an obverse of one Emperor and a reverse of another, depending on the pieces serving as a model for the probably illiterate &quot;artist&quot;. The most bizarre are those depicting a specific reverse engraving like SALVS, COMES, VICTORIA but with unrelated reverse legend like SPES AVG, PAX PVBLICA, etc. One example in my collection, <i>Providentia</i> on the reverse but the legend reads <i>Victoria</i>...</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1374132[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>These coins are often unique because the materials used in the fabrication of dies were of poor quality, so only a few coins were struck, quickly worn and little hoarded because of no value. It is therefore exceptional to find two identical coins struck with the same dies.</p><p><br /></p><p>Some scholars present a stylistic division into 3 groups. It is logical, however, that, as in the case of the division by type of reverses, no true chronology can be derived from a stylistic classification. Indeed, the <b>minims</b> having been issued in a large number of private workshops, by a very large number of engravers of different skill, there can be no homogeneity in the quality of the engravings, and the most common &quot;degenerates&quot;&nbsp; types are not necessarily the most recent. Coins from <b>Group 1</b> have design close or relatively close to the originals both on the obverse and on the reverse, legends generally intelligible with well-formed letters.</p><p><b>Group 2</b> have portraits which tends to be less personal, one or more attributes are missing from the divinity on the reverse, and its position is less vivid and natural. Legends also tend to become faulty to the point of becoming incomprehensible.</p><p><b>Group 3</b>: The specimens tend to disintegrate, otherwise they are strongly stylized. The legends, when they have not disappeared are very faulty, sometimes with letters that do not exist. Sometimes the reverse is limited to a radiated crown and a set of lines and points. Here&#039;s a specimen that I would classify in this category:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1374145[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Fascinatingly, the smallest radiate copies that have been analyzed, the so-called minims, often have a different metallurgical composition. It seems that these <b>minims</b> are among the latest of the radiate imitations that were produced. They are often made from either a tinned copper alloy or from pure copper. The tin may have been used to give a silvery appearance, an attempt to make these small coins look more precious than they were in reality. The use of copper probably represents the last gasp of radiate imitations, employing whatever was available in the early 280s after other supplies of more intrinsically valuable metal had been exhausted.</p><p>Now I&#039;d like to present you my latest purchase (from a coin show), and I believe it&#039;s good enough to be a member of Group 1 :</p><p><br /></p><p>Tetricus II Minim (Group 1)</p><p>CPE TETRICVS CAES / SPES AVGG</p><p>12mm 1.40g</p><p>Cunetio 3033&nbsp; Normanby 1975</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1374127[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>I know it&#039;s almost impossible to find a die-match, but I will try to do it anyway...</p><p>Here are some references and pictures from the Cunetio and Normanby hoards for similar <b>minims</b>. Do you see a match ???</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1374128[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1374131[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1374129[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1374130[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><b>Please feel free to share with us your minims !</b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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