Catalog
Denier - Sico
| Issuer | Principality of Benevento |
|---|---|
| Year | 817-832 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Solidus (668-897) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A cross on three steps (a cross potent on a Calvary base) occupies the central field, with a pellet to the left and a pellet to the right of the cross shaft, flanking the design symmetrically. The cross is boldly struck and rendered in the early medieval Lombard style. A circular Latin legend surrounds the central device, running along the periphery of the irregular flan. The overall composition reflects the strong Carolingian religious iconographic influence prevalent in Beneventan coinage of the early ninth century. |
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| Mintage | ND (817-832) - Monogram with pellets in quarters. - ND (817-832) - Monogram with star in fourth quarter. - ND (817-832) - Monogram with triangle in first quarter. - ND (817-832) - One pellet in reverse. - ND (817-832) - Two pellets in reverse. - |
| Additional information |
Sico seized the principality of Benevento in 817 by murdering his predecessor Grimoald IV, and his coinage reflects a ruler working hard to project legitimate authority. Benevento had long operated as a semi-independent Lombard enclave in southern Italy, and its silver coinage maintained that identity even as Carolingian pressure reshaped the political geography of the peninsula. Sico's reign ended with his death in 832, after which his son Siconulf faced immediate dynastic challenge — the fragmentation that followed effectively split the principality within a decade.