The understanding of the single finds and hoards of Roman silver coins in the German Barbaricum has been much influenced through Tacitus' passages Germania V,4-5 stressing i. a. the preference of the Germans for old denarii i.e. with high silver content. Comparisons of hoards from Gaul and the German Barbaricum show, however, that the hoarding process of the denarius must have been more complex as stated by the Roman historian. Certainly, the denarii hoards offer similarities on both sides of the Rhine but does this observation imply a strict contemporaneity of all the finds? In other words, it raises the question if the hoards from Barbaricum can be analysed with the same critera as the hoards from the Empire. Finally, attention must be given to the consequences of the stop of denarii export under Septimius Severus for the hoarding of silver coins in the Gallic provinces.