Barbarous radiate

Barbarous radiates are imitations of the antoninianus, a type of coin issued during the Roman Empire, which are so named due to their crude style and prominent radiant crown worn by the emperor.

Barbarous radiates were issued privately primarily during the Crisis of the Third Century (c. 259–274 AD) in the western provinces.

[1][2] According to Hill, in England, although barbarous radiates were clearly produced at several different locations, hoard evidence demonstrate local styles.

Legends of barbarous radiates range from correct and exact copies of the prototype, to a jumble of unintelligible, meaningless letters and symbols.

For very degraded barbarous imitations, there is a tendency to emphasize a particular feature of the prototype, in this case the radiate crown.