Watch List notes:

Suevic Kingdom of Gallaecia. Time of Hermeric, Rechila and Rechiar. AV Tremissis (1.14 gms), ca. A.D. 425-455. EXTREMELY FINE.
cf. Reinhardt-61; cf. Chaves-24. Pseudo-Imperial type imitating Valentinian III. Obverse: diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right; Reverse: cross pattee within double beaded circles; COTO above. This EXTREMELY RARE and possibly UNIQUE barbaric imitative piece was likely struck in Northwest Iberia. Often prepared by apparently illiterate die engravers, Suevic issues typically display badly blundered legends, and this example is no exception. Nonetheless, the quality of the dies and great preservation of the surfaces allows us to read the last part of the legend as "MVNETA". The first part could be either a butchered spelling of Valentinian's name or "LATINA", a word with precedence in Suevic coinage, though its meaning is unclear. This fascinatingly mysterious coin is well-struck and wonderfully well-preserved. The flan is slightly wavy as is typical, and the surfaces are lightly toned to a burnished golden color. This singular specimen possesses charming crudeness and historical intrigue.

The Suevi were a Germanic people that lived for centuries north of the Rhine. Julius Caesar famously recounted his clashes with the warlike tribe in De Bello Gallico, his written account concerning his conquest of Gaul. Little else is known about the Suevi before their migration into the territories of the disintegrating Western Roman Empire in the beginning of the 5th Century A.D. Likely pushed due to pressure from the aggressive Huns, the Suevi crossed the Rhine into Gaul and then advanced farther south into the Iberian Peninsula. Rapidly losing control over the Iberian provinces and unable to militarily challenge the Suevi, the Roman emperor Honorius accepted them as Foederati, nominal vassals who agreed to settle an autonomous kingdom in Gallaecia and not cause chaos from further incursions into Roman territory. The Suevic kings Hermeric and Rechila, who ruled in the time of Valentinian III, spent their reigns solidifying Suevic control over the region. During these years, the Suevi gradually synthesized their language and customs with the local Latinized population. This is evident in their coinage, struck in the name of the Roman emperor and bearing legends in Latin, or at least an illegible imitation of Latin.

Rechiar, who took the throne in 448, was both the first Christian king of the Suevi and the first to mint coins in his own name, disposing of the nominal fealty to the collapsing Roman authorities. The ambitious king made a series of bold raids into Roman-held lands, plundering cities and taking prisoners. Rechiar's provocations soon caught up with him, however, as Roman-backed Goths dealt the Suevi a decisive defeat and executed their king as punishment. The Suevi were overshadowed and at length absorbed by their powerful Visigothic neighbors, but their mintage of some of the first post-Roman coins of the nascent "Dark Ages" has cemented their numismatic legacy.

Estimate: $10000 - $20000