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Tremissis - Arichis II as Prince
| Issuer | Principality of Benevento |
|---|---|
| Year | 774-787 |
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| Value | 1 Tremissis = ⅓ Solidus |
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| Obverse description | Facing bust of Arichis II, bearded and crowned with a jewelled diadem surmounted by a cross pattée, rendered in the late Lombard-Byzantine stylistic tradition. The figure is depicted in a frontal, hieratic pose wearing a cuirass with elaborate beaded ornamentation at the neckline, and a paludamentum fastened at the right shoulder. A small cross potent appears to the lower left of the bust in the field. The encircling Latin legend reads D NS VI - CTORIA, invoking the lord and victory, distributed on either side of the crowned effigy. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | D NS VI - CTORIA (Translation: Our Lord, Victory.) |
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| Additional information |
Arichis II struck these tremisses following the Lombard Kingdom's collapse in 774, when Charlemagne's conquest of Pavia left Benevento as the last effectively independent Lombard political entity in Italy. The adoption of the princely title — Arichis declared himself Prince rather than Duke in 774 — was a deliberate act of political distancing from the Frankish court, and the coinage followed suit, marking a transition in Beneventan numismatic identity. The electrum composition itself reflects degraded gold standards inherited from late Byzantine and Lombard practice rather than any local innovation.