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Tarì - Guaimar III
| Issuer | Principality of Salerno |
|---|---|
| Year | 999-1027 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central pellet within a raised circle at the center of the flan, encircled by a ring of radiating pellet-and-stroke ornaments forming an inner annulus closely imitating Fatimid prototype designs. Two outer concentric bands carry pseudo-Kufic inscriptions, decoratively copying Ismaili Fatimid legends without faithful textual accuracy. The reverse composition mirrors the obverse, consistent with the anonymous tarì series issued under Guaimar III of Salerno. The hammered gold flan exhibits the characteristic irregular outline and variable thickness of southern Italian Islamic-style coinage of the period. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Guaimar III ruled Salerno at a moment when southern Italy was being pulled apart by Byzantine administration, Lombard autonomy, and the early stirrings of Norman mercenary presence. These tarì were struck in imitation of Fatimid quarter-dinars — the rub'ī — circulating out of Sicily, a practical concession to the monetary realities of Mediterranean trade rather than any political alignment with the Fatimid caliphate. The pseudo-Kufic inscriptions that appear on Salernitan tarì of this period were largely unintelligible even to contemporary Arab readers.