Coins of the Dark Ages (400-800 AD) 523-530 n. Chr. AE4 with cross, Hilderic (523-530 CE), Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, Migration Period

Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust facing right and surrounded by mostly illegible legend // Cross within wreath. 10mm, 0.46 grams. Carthage mint? BMC Vandal#41-43; Grierson #24-25; Numista 145841.

Hilderic (r. 523–530 CE) was king of the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa and a grandson of Valentinian III through his mother, Eudocia. Unlike many of his predecessors, Hilderic favored closer relations with the Eastern Roman Empire and ended the persecution of Nicene Christians, policies that alienated parts of the Vandal nobility. In 530 he was deposed by his cousin Gelimer, an event that provided Justinian I with a pretext to launch the Vandalic War. The resulting Byzantine conquest ended the Vandal Kingdom in 534 and restored imperial rule to North Africa.