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 Replies: 13 / Views: 2,317 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
Felt a strong itch to acquire another Vandal coin for my collection, and fortunately I was able to find this very nice example.  This may look like an anonymous unofficial imitative ("barbarous"), but the style of it pretty much matches (at least in my view) that of known cross-within-wreath coins of Hilderic, such as those below (first is from Tantalus and second is from Coinproject):   On closer inspection of my coin, I also believe I see the letters IL from the obverse legend HILD REX. My coin's attribution: Hilderic, Vandal Kingdom AE nummus Obv: HILD [REX], pearl-diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right Rev: Cross potent within wreath, ring above Mint: Carthage (struck 523-530 AD) Ref: BMC Vandals 9 Size: 9 mm wide  Hilderic ruled as King of the Vandals and Alans, who ruled a post-Roman Germanic realm in North Africa, with the capital at Carthage. He was the grandson of the famed Gaiseric, and son of Huneric, and Eudocia, the daughter of Western Roman emperor Valentinian III, meaning Hilderic was of Roman descent in addition to being Vandal. He ascended the throne in 523 when he was in his 50s or 60s, and his reign is marked by improved relations with his Catholic Christian Roman subjects (Hilderic and the Vandal nobility were Arian Christians) and by extension the Eastern Roman Empire and its ruler Justinian, who was a very good friend of Hilderic. After becoming king, Hilderic converted to Catholic Christianity, the same religion as his mother, and soon other members of the Vandal nobility converted as well. Other nobles were not pleased by this, however, and soon a coup occurred, led by Hilderic's cousin, Gelimer. Hilderic and his family were imprisoned. Emperor Justinian did not take kindly to what Gelimer had done, and after unsuccessfully negotiating for Hilderic's restoration, sent his forces to invade the Vandal Kingdom. Unfortunately Justinian was too late to save Hilderic, who was executed by Gelimer in 533, but his invasion of the Vandal Kingdom was successful and, as a result, for the first time in a century Roman rule was returned to Carthage and the rest of North Africa. |
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Pillar of the Community
3772 Posts |
Interesting coin, are you leaving it as is or are you going to try to clean up the obverse a bit? Seems you are getting more and more of the Kingdoms of the East Germanic Tribes together, soon you will have to consider upgrading to 'Emperor'.  |
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Another excellent coin VK.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4971 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4778 Posts |
Thanks all for the compliments! Quote:
Interesting coin, are you leaving it as is or are you going to try to clean up the obverse a bit? Believe me, its tempting! I'm pretty ok at cleaning but I don't want to risk ruining this rare coin. Quote:
Seems you are getting more and more of the Kingdoms of the East Germanic Tribes together, soon you will have to consider upgrading to 'Emperor'. Nah, emperor is sooo 5th century  |
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Pillar of the Community
1121 Posts |
I enjoyed reading the 'prose' because I had come across the Vandals in my schooling in the middle part of the last Century when such things were taught, (I wasn't aware that they were Christians though), but I don't recall the 'Alans'.
Do you have any more information on them?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
The Alans were a group of Sarmatian peoples of Iranian origin, from the area just north of the Caucasus Mountains (between the Black and Caspian Seas). Around the 360s-370s AD, the Alans were attacked by the Huns, and some Alans fled west, linking up with other barbarian tribes such as the Vandals and Sueves and later crossed the Rhine with them into Roman Gaul in December of 406. Soon these Alans settled in Hispania along with the Vandals. When the Alan king Attaces was killed in 418, the Alans asked the Vandal king Gunderic to accept the Alan throne. Gunderic did, and from that point forward, the Vandal kings were known as Rex Vandalorum et Alanorum. The Alans formally joined with the Vandals and migrated with them to North Africa.
Edited by VisigothKing
11/11/2014 2:10 pm
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Pillar of the Community
1121 Posts |
Thank you V.K.
Clear concise and to the point. Tres interessant.
Now that is some knowledge I did not have before. Again, thanks.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
And here is a coin of the guy that did Hilderic in, Gelimer:  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
And a couple of Justinian, the only winner of the whole Hilderic-Gelimer affair:   Edited by VisigothKing
11/11/2014 5:38 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
560 Posts |
Coin looks good, pity they were vandals to coins
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
Thanks. Not sure what you mean by that last part though  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
I think Enlil was making a joke at the decrepit style of the coins. In other words vandalizing the whole tradition of coin minting,
These small coins are sooo crappy but the history is some of the richest and most interesting of all time. Well done.
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Moderator
United States
23731 Posts |
That seated Justinian is an interesting coin. You don't see many of these around, though not rare I've only seen a few. Antioch/Theoupolis mint, SB 214.
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Replies: 13 / Views: 2,317 |
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Posted 11/10/2014 9:41 pm
