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1 Follaro - Ruggero II
| Issuer | Sicily, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1139 |
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| Currency | Tari (1060-1754) |
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| Obverse description | Four lines of Kufic Arabic inscription fill the field within a plain border, the text arranged horizontally across the flan in the characteristic angular script of Norman-Sicilian coinage. The lowest line contains the AH date 533, corresponding to the Christian year 1139. The inscription records the authority of Roger the Great, invoking divine assistance, and names Messina as the mint of issue. The die-cut lettering is bold and deeply struck, reflecting the strong Islamic administrative tradition retained by the Norman court of Sicily. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | (Translation: By the order of Roger the Great, with God`s help, struck in Messina 533) |
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| Additional information |
Ruggero II consolidated Norman rule over Sicily through deliberate monetary pluralism — issuing coins in Arabic, Greek, and Latin to serve a population that was simultaneously Muslim, Byzantine Christian, and Latin Catholic. The follaro sat at the bottom of this tiered system, functioning as fractional coinage for daily market transactions in Palermo and the trading ports. Spahr 62 represents one of the more precisely attributable varieties in an often frustrating series where die alignment and flan preparation vary enough to make confident attribution genuinely difficult.