Cunincpert ruled the Lombard kingdom from 688 following the violent overthrow of his cousin Alahis, and his coinage reflects a transitional moment in which Lombard kings were still issuing gold tremisses in conscious imitation of Byzantine prototypes — borrowing imperial authority they did not formally possess. The "hand in field" variety distinguishes a specific die grouping within MEC 1, 300-302, the hand almost certainly derived from the Byzantine manus Dei motif, repurposed here without its original theological program into something closer to a mint or workshop mark.
Cunincpert ruled the Lombard kingdom from 688 following the violent overthrow of his cousin Alahis, and his coinage reflects a transitional moment in which Lombard kings were still issuing gold tremisses in conscious imitation of Byzantine prototypes — borrowing imperial authority they did not formally possess. The "hand in field" variety distinguishes a specific die grouping within MEC 1, 300-302, the hand almost certainly derived from the Byzantine manus Dei motif, repurposed here without its original theological program into something closer to a mint or workshop mark.