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Denier - Federico II IPR
| Issuer | Sicily, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1220-1250 |
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| Value | 1 Denier (1⁄120) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field features the letters IPR arranged beneath two omega characters (ΩΩ), all enclosed within a beaded inner circle. The design is characteristic of the abbreviated imperial titulature employed on Hohenstaufen billon issues. A circular legend surrounds the inner circle, reading +.F.ROMANORVM. ΩΩ IPR, referencing Frederick II as Holy Roman Emperor. The strike is irregular, as typical of hammered medieval Sicilian coinage of this period. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A plain cross with slightly splayed arms divides the field into four quarters, each containing an outward-facing crescent. The cross extends to a beaded inner circle, a standard decorative device on Norman and Hohenstaufen Sicilian deniers. A circular legend surrounds the composition reading +.IERSL.ET.SICIL.R., identifying the ruler as King of Jerusalem and Sicily. The overall design follows the established iconographic tradition of crusader-influenced Sicilian coinage. |
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| Additional information |
Federico II was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome in 1220 — the same year the bracketing date on this issue begins — and his Sicilian coinage reflects the administrative consolidation that followed. His 1231 Constitutions of Melfi reorganized the Kingdom of Sicily into one of the most centralized states in medieval Europe, bringing minting firmly under royal control and standardizing output across Palermo and the other Sicilian workshops.
Billon deniers of this type circulated as the workhorse small change of a kingdom that also produced the far more celebrated augustale in pure gold. The Spahr reference remains the essential catalog for Norman and Hohenstaufen Sicilian coinage.