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Solidus - Romoald II in the name of Justinian II
| Issuer | Duchy of Benevento |
|---|---|
| Year | 706-731 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | MEC I#1087, BMC Vandal#3-6 (p.156), Oddy#394 |
| Obverse description | Frontal facing bust of the emperor Justinian II, crowned with a diadem and draped in imperial robes with visible collar ornamentation, rendered in the provincial Lombard style. The effigy displays a short beard and flowing hair falling to the shoulders, with a globus cruciger held in the left hand and a patriarchal cross to the left of the bust. The portrait is executed in a stylized, somewhat barbaric adaptation of Byzantine prototypes. A circular Latin legend surrounds the bust within a beaded border. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | D N IVS - TINIVN VGP (Translation: Our Lord, Justinian, (perpetual) August.) |
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| Additional information |
Romoald II governed Benevento through a period of sustained Lombard consolidation in southern Italy, yet continued striking coinage in the name of a Byzantine emperor — Justinian II — whose second reign ended in 711 when he was overthrown and executed. That this practice persisted well past Justinian's death, likely into the 720s, tells you something about how slowly imperial legitimating fictions updated at the periphery. The electrum content is noticeably debased relative to Constantinople's contemporary solidi, a degradation Oddy's metallurgical survey quantifies precisely.