Catalog
Denier - Siconulf
| Issuer | Principality of Salerno |
|---|---|
| Year | 839-849 |
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| Currency | Solidus (839-1077) |
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| Obverse description | Central field features a monogram composed of interlaced letters referencing the ruler Siconulf, arranged around a small cross, with pellets decorating the quarters. The surrounding circular legend in Latin reads PRINCE BENEBENTI SCNF, identifying Siconulf as Prince of Benevento. The coin is struck on an irregular flan with a beaded border encircling the entire design. The lettering is characteristic of the Carolingian-influenced Lombard script style of the mid-ninth century. The overall design reflects the transitional numismatic style of the southern Italian principalities of the period. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central device consists of a prominent patriarchal or processional cross set upon a stepped base, rendered in bold relief characteristic of Lombard hammered coinage. Flanking the cross are pellets and small decorative elements, while the surrounding circular Latin legend reads A · RH ANGELV MIHLE, an invocation of the Archangel Michael. The beaded border frames the design on an irregular, slightly cupped flan. The cross motif and the archangelic dedication reflect the strong religious iconography prevalent in Lombard Beneventan coinage of the ninth century. The style is consistent with other issues of the Principality of Salerno under Siconulf. |
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| Additional information |
Siconulf's principality was itself a product of violent fragmentation — when his brother Sicard was murdered in 839, the ensuing civil war split the Lombard Principality of Benevento permanently, with Siconulf holding Salerno against the rival claimant Radelchis at Benevento. Both sides notoriously hired Saracen mercenaries during the conflict, a decision that accelerated Muslim raiding throughout southern Italy for decades. Siconulf's coinage belongs entirely to this decade of open warfare, minted by a prince whose territorial control was never fully secure.