Crispus BEATA from Trier

[Victor]

This coin is in really good style, but the bust is not quite right. The chin is smaller than usual with a longer neck and the cuirass looks just odd.

Crispus
A.D. 321
18x19mm  3.2gm
IVL CRISPVS NOB CAES, laureate, cuirassed, spear pointing forward, shield on left arm
BEATA TRAN-QVILLITAS, Globe set on altar insc. VOT/IS/XX; above three stars.
In exergue dot STR dot
Cf. RIC VII Trier 308

[seuk]

Just got this imitation. I guess at least some of the 'barbarous' issues are contemporary counterfeits done by less able engravers - of course difficult if not impossible to tell unless there's some clear evidence.

[Victor]

of course difficult if not impossible to tell unless there's some clear evidence.

Hoard evidence indicates that unofficial coinage was struck at the same time as official coinage.

[seuk]

of course difficult if not impossible to tell unless there's some clear evidence.

Hoard evidence indicates that unofficial coinage was struck at the same time as official coinage.

Does that goes for all or most of the bronze/copper coins?
In any case that would suggest use within or in close proximity with the Roman empire though not whether the coins are to be regarded as counterfeit or imitations made to fill a void of official coinage. Anyway one would expect counterfeits to turn up individually within hoards of official coinage or as complete hoards made from a single (or a few) die pairs while imitations would likely be of a larger variety of die pairs within a hoard and perhaps mixed with official coins.
Do you know of any published VLPP imitations hoards?

[Victor]

Do you know of any published VLPP imitations hoards?

My page on unofficial coinage has suggested reading at the bottom, which includes an article about a small hoard of unofficial coins which contained 37 VLPP's   Matthias Pfisterer and Heinz Winter, “Eine Sammlung barbarisierter spätrömischer Münzen aus Carnuntum"

http://www.constantinethegreatcoins.com/barb2/

Most often, though, in hoards unofficial coinage was found mixed in with official coinage. Generally, however, unofficial issues are single coin finds. Below is a map showing Carnuntum (where the 37 VLPP's in the above article were found) and Siscia.

[seuk]

Thanks - will see if I can find a copy of the article somewhere.