Catalog
1/4 Tercenario
| Issuer | Sicily, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1166-1189 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Tari (1060-1754) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Reverse field bearing a multi-line Arabic inscription in Kufic script arranged in three horizontal registers within a plain border, typical of Norman-Sicilian fractional coinage of the twelfth century. The legend, partially obscured by a chip to the upper right of the flan, conforms to the standard formulaic religious and royal titulature found on Sicilian tari and their fractions. The surface exhibits characteristic hammered texture and natural patination. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Issued under William II of Sicily, whose reign marked the political apex of the Norman kingdom before the Hauteville line collapsed into the chaos of succession disputes and eventual Hohenstaufen annexation. The billon tercenario and its fractions circulated in a monetary environment that was genuinely trilingual — Arabic, Greek, and Latin all appeared on Sicilian coinage of this period, reflecting an administration that had absorbed Fatimid fiscal structures wholesale rather than replacing them.
The fractional denomination suggests small-transaction demand in a densely commercialized Mediterranean port economy.