Caracalla, contemporary imitation ("Gallic cast"), 209 AD. and later,
imitative As (23-24 mm / 2,80 g), bronze, axes irregular alignment ↑↖ (ca. 320°),
Obv.: [AN]TONINVS - PIVS AVG , laureate bust of the young Caracalla right, with drapery on left shoulder; flan crack at 7-8.
Rev.: PONTIF TR P XII COS III / S - C , Victory standing r., l. foot on helmet, about to inscribe shield set on palm; flan crack at 4-5.
for prototype, cf. RIC IV, I, 285, 448b (scarce) ; Coh. 467 ; BMC 175 note .
Curtis Clay 24/01/2010:
"Most Severan "Gallic" casts reproduce originals of the period c. 202-8 which (a) were issued by the mint in reduced volume and (b) include a lot of collectible types, e.g. Plautilla, Geta Saecular Games types, Septimus Victory in biga, Caracalla INDVLGENTIA AVGG IN CARTH.
So there were a lot of "collectible" types in the original production of casts, and yes, of course it is specifically casts bearing these interesting types that preferentially turn up in catalogues and collections, the original struck pieces being hard to come by.
There is no doubt whatever about the antiquity of the series. A large number of these casts bear obviously authentic patination and deposits; many of them, for example all the ones known to Cohen, have been in collections for 150 years and more; some have excavation provenances, for example Walker, Coins from the Sacred Spring at Bath, pl. 41, 45 (Caracalla INDVLGENTIA AVGG IN CARTH)."
Plus, with their shrunken diameter and impossibly light weights, these casts deviate too greatly from the originals to fool any competent collector. A modern forger who produced such incompetent imitations would have been left sitting on his entire production!"