C P ESV TETRICVS CAES, Tetricus facing right / SPES PVBLICA reverse, with Spes advancing left, raising her skirt and carrying a lotus flower. 24mm (at the widest), 2.78 grams. RIC 272.

Mint error (split flan).

Tetricus I and his son Tetricus II were rulers of the breakaway Gallic Empire, which existed during the Roman Empire's Crisis of the Third Century. Tetricus I became emperor around 271 CE, succeeding Victorinus, and governed Gaul, parts of Germania, and Britain. He appointed his young son, Tetricus II, as Caesar, possibly as a move to secure dynastic continuity. Their rule faced internal instability and pressure from both Germanic tribes and the central Roman Empire. In 274 CE, the Roman emperor Aurelian launched a campaign to reunify the empire and defeated Tetricus I at the Battle of Châlons. Remarkably, both father and son were spared and honored; Tetricus I was given a senatorial position, and Tetricus II may have received a minor administrative role. Their peaceful submission marked the end of the Gallic Empire and the restoration of Roman unity.