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42 Nummi Countermark, As of Titus, 79-81
| Issuer | Ostrogothic Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 501-553 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 42 Nummi = 1⁄12 Siliqua = 1⁄96 Tremissis |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Laureate bust of Titus facing left, surrounded by a Latin imperial legend. An etched countermark reading XLII (42) appears in the left field, applied by Ostrogothic authorities to revalue the original Roman As for continued circulation. The portrait retains the characteristic style of Flavian imperial coinage, with the legend partially visible around the periphery of the flan. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The Ostrogothic countermarking program was a pragmatic response to the near-total absence of functioning bronze coinage in the post-Roman West. Rather than strike new coins, Theoderic and his successors stamped existing Roman bronzes — often decades old — with a value mark authorizing them to circulate at a fixed denomination. This particular host coin, an As of Titus, had already been out of official circulation for roughly four centuries before the Ostrogoths put it back to work.
The RIC II.1 1031 attribution places the original striking firmly in the Flavian period. That a coin of Titus survived in usable condition long enough to be countermarked speaks to how severely depleted the available bronze stock had become in Italy by the sixth century.