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1/4 Siliqua In the name of Justinian I, Without stars
| Issuer | Lombard Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 568-690 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Central device consisting of an open staurogram (tau-rho monogram of Christ) without a star on either side, presented as the sole type within the field. The staurogram is enclosed within a laurel or pearl wreath that encircles the entire design, a convention borrowed from Byzantine prototype coinage. The reverse is devoid of any legend or exergual inscription, reflecting the simplified iconographic program characteristic of Lombard fractional silver coinage. The die workmanship is typical of early medieval hammer-struck issues, with irregular fabric and somewhat crude execution. |
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| Additional information |
The Lombards entered Italy in 568 under Alboin, displacing Byzantine authority across much of the peninsula while never fully severing the cultural habit of issuing coinage in the emperor's name — a practice that masked Lombard sovereignty behind the fiction of imperial legitimacy. This piece belongs to that long twilight, struck across a reign-span of over a century during which actual Constantinopolitan control of the issuing mints was essentially nominal. The absence of stars distinguishes it from related types and helps narrow placement within the sequence, though precise attribution within the 568–690 window remains contested among specialists.