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1 Tremissis In the name of Justinian I, Crossed tassels, hanging
| Issuer | Lombard Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 568-690 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust of Emperor Justinian I facing right, distinguished by hanging crossed tassels pendant from the diadem, rendered in the late antique Byzantine imperial tradition. The effigy is executed in low relief characteristic of Lombard imitative coinage. A surrounding Latin legend encircles the bust within the field. |
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| Obverse lettering | DN IVSTINI - ANVS PG AVC (Translation: Dominus Noster Justinian Perpetuus Augustus Our Lord, Justinian, perpetual August) |
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| Additional information |
The Lombards entered Italy in 568 under Alboin, displacing Byzantine administrative structures with remarkable speed but lacking the minting infrastructure to produce a fully independent coinage. For well over a century, they continued striking gold tremisses invoking Justinian I — dead since 565 — not out of political deference but because his name carried commercial credibility across Mediterranean trade networks that Lombard rulers could not yet replace with their own.
The crossed tassels type is understood as a distinctly Lombard modification, marking a gradual drift from Byzantine prototypes toward something functionally autonomous. The "cf." qualifiers on both Arslan and MEC I suggest this particular die combination sits outside the cleanly documented sequence.