The term "Migration Period”, which has been used since the 18th century, has recently come under increasing criticism from historians. Numismatically, "Migration Period" refers to all coinages of Germanic tribes (gentes) from the first "pseudo-imperial" restrikes of Roman coins to the independent "nationalized" coins of the Germanic kingdoms (regna).

Migration coins are ancient coins minted in Europe during the Migration Period (4th to 6th centuries AD). They give us important insights into the history and culture of the time. For example, they show portraits of rulers, pagan deities or warlike scenes. The coins served not only as a means of payment, but also as a propaganda tool to demonstrate the power and influence of the rulers. 

Today, coins of the Migration Period are highly sought after by collectors and historians, as they represent important evidence from a turbulent period of European history.

The first stage of the Migration Period coinage are the so-called "pseudo-imperial" coinages – more or less successful imitations of imperial gold and silver coins, which can be assigned to different tribes on the basis of their style. Copper (follis) and silver (siliqua) coins have been “nationalized” since the end of the 5th century, i. H. in the name of the Germanic rulers. The gold coins (solidus and triens) continued to imitate the Eastern Roman-Byzantine model, occasionally supplemented by a small ruler's monogram in the field (e.g. GVB for the Burgundian king Gundobald, 473-516). Only the Frankish ruler Theudebert of Metz (534-548) put his own name on the coins and thus broke the gold coin monopoly of the Byzantine emperors.

For the collector of coins of the Migration Period, coinage of the Vandals (North Africa), Ostrogoths (Italy), Visigoths (France and Spain), Suebi (Spain) and Lombards (Italy) come into question as thematic complexes, although their determination and assignment is not always easy and requires a good knowledge of the specialist literature.