Bergamo came under Carolingian control following Charlemagne's conquest of the Lombard Kingdom in 774, when he deposed Desiderius and assumed the title Rex Langobardorum. This tremissis belongs to the early phase of Carolingian monetary administration in northern Italy, before the silver denarius reforms of around 793–794 fundamentally displaced gold small coinage from the Frankish monetary system. The tremissis as a denomination had deep Lombard and Byzantine roots in the region; Charlemagne briefly continued its production at captured mints rather than abolish it outright.
CNI IV lists six varieties for this Bergamo issue, suggesting the mint was active across multiple die pairings during this window.
Bergamo came under Carolingian control following Charlemagne's conquest of the Lombard Kingdom in 774, when he deposed Desiderius and assumed the title Rex Langobardorum. This tremissis belongs to the early phase of Carolingian monetary administration in northern Italy, before the silver denarius reforms of around 793–794 fundamentally displaced gold small coinage from the Frankish monetary system. The tremissis as a denomination had deep Lombard and Byzantine roots in the region; Charlemagne briefly continued its production at captured mints rather than abolish it outright.
CNI IV lists six varieties for this Bergamo issue, suggesting the mint was active across multiple die pairings during this window.