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Solidus - Gregory in the name of Justinian II
| Issuer | Duchy of Benevento |
|---|---|
| Year | 732-739 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 3.97 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A cross potent set upon four steps occupies the central field, flanked by a letter to the left and a star to the right, all within a surrounding Latin legend. The design closely follows the Byzantine solidus reverse type but rendered in the provincial Beneventan manner, with the addition of the mint initial and the star as a distinguishing emission mark. The execution reflects the characteristic stylistic simplification of Lombard imitative coinage of the early eighth century. |
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| Reverse lettering | VICTOR VGVS G CON OB (Translation: Victory of the August. Gregory. Constantinople.) |
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| Additional information |
Romuald II of Benevento died in 732, leaving the duchy in the hands of a succession of short-lived rulers while the Lombard south struggled to define itself against both Byzantine authority and Frankish pressure from the north. These electrum solidi — debased imitations of Byzantine gold — were struck under Gregory, a figure whose precise status within Benevento's tangled succession remains disputed, invoking Justinian II's name long after that emperor had been deposed and executed in 711. The anachronism was deliberate: Byzantine imperial titulature still conferred legitimacy in southern Italy regardless of who actually held Constantinople.