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1/2 Siliqua In the name of Heraclius
| Issuer | Lombard Kingdom of Italy |
|---|---|
| Year | 620-700 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Highly schematized, facing bust of the emperor Heraclius, depicted with a pearl diadem, draped shoulders, and cuirass rendered in a crude barbarian style. The effigy faces right in profile, with the drapery and cuirass indicated by summary incised lines and pellets. The overall artistic treatment reflects the degenerate Lombard imitative tradition, with a beaded border encircling the design. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central field occupied by a stylized monogram of Emperor Heraclius, rendered in a schematic cross-like form with curved and angular strokes. Four pellets are arranged above the monogram and one pellet below, all within a plain field. The execution is characteristic of Lombard imitative coinage, with the monogram reduced to a highly abstract symbol retaining only the essential ligature of the imperial name. A beaded border frames the entire design. |
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| Additional information |
The Lombards, who swept into northern Italy in 568, lacked the administrative machinery to operate independent mints for decades. Striking coins in the name of the reigning Byzantine emperor was a practical concession — it kept trade functional and avoided the political cost of open monetary defiance. By the mid-seventh century that fiction had grown increasingly thin, and these late pseudo-imperial issues in Heraclius's name were produced well after any meaningful Byzantine authority over Lombard territory had collapsed.
At 0.25g, this is a fractional denomination with almost no margin for die-cutting error — yet Lombard celators were not working to Byzantine standards.