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1/2 Siliqua - Justinian I VOT MVLT HTI
| Issuer | Byzantine Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 527-565 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | Reverse bearing a votive inscription arranged in three lines across the field, reading VOT MVLT HTI, with the mint signature CONOS (Constantinople) typically appearing below. The legend, an abbreviation of the votive formula Votis Multis, records imperial anniversary vows and is characteristic of this small silver fractional series struck under Justinian I. The letters are bold and clearly spaced across the compact flan, consistent with hammered half-siliqua production at the Constantinople mint. The field is plain, with no additional decorative elements. |
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| Mint | Constantinople |
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| Additional information |
Justinian I's reign saw the reconquest of North Africa from the Vandals and large portions of Italy from the Ostrogoths, campaigns that stretched imperial finances to their limit. Silver fractional coinage of this period is thought to have served administrative and military pay functions in newly recovered western territories, where gold solidi were too large a denomination for routine transactions. The vota legend — a formulaic acclamation of imperial anniversary prayers — was already archaic by the sixth century, a bureaucratic inheritance rather than a live political act.
At 5.5 mm, these are genuinely tiny objects, and losses from ancient circulation are substantial. Most surviving examples come from hoard rather than site finds.