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Tremissis - Avitus Cross within a wreath, Mediolanum
| Issuer | Western Roman Empire |
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| Year | 455-456 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 13 mm |
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| Obverse description | Right-facing bust of Emperor Avitus, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed, rendered in the late Roman imperial tradition. The effigy displays the characteristic stylized treatment of the period, with the pearl diadem clearly articulated across the brow. The surrounding field carries the Latin imperial legend in retrograde or partially garbled form, consistent with the declining die-cutting standards of the mid-fifth century Western Empire. |
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| Reverse description | A plain Latin cross occupies the central field, enclosed within a laurel wreath whose tied binding is visible at the base. The cross, boldly rendered in relief, reflects the Christian symbolism that had become standard on late Roman gold coinage. The wreath is rendered with individual leaves clearly delineated, consistent with the Mediolanum mint style of the period. The reverse field is otherwise blank, with no legend or exergual inscription. |
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| Additional information |
Avitus ruled for barely fourteen months before being deposed by his own generalissimo Ricimer in October 456, stripped of the purple, and compelled into a bishopric. His coinage is accordingly scarce across all mints, but the Mediolanum output is particularly thin — Milan was Ricimer's power base, which makes every tremissis struck there a small bureaucratic artifact of a deeply unstable relationship between an emperor and the man who would shortly end him.