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Tremissis - Noe
| Issuer | Kingdom of Aksum |
|---|---|
| Year | 400-425 |
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| Reference(s) | MHAC#59-62, BMC Aksum#290-291, SACAM#222-233, Hahn Ak#28 |
| Obverse description | Facing bust of the Aksumite king rendered in stylized relief within a beaded inner circle, the sovereign depicted with large almond-shaped eyes, a prominent nose, and wearing what appears to be a tiara or headband with detailed hair treatment above. The bust is set against a plain field and is enclosed by a double border consisting of an inner beaded circle and an outer ring bearing the royal legend in Ge'ez-influenced Greek characters separated by cross motifs. The overall engraving style is characteristic of late Aksumite coinage, with a bold, frontal aesthetic typical of the early fifth century. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Noe's tremissis belongs to a reign that remains only partially reconstructed — Aksumite royal chronology for the early fifth century depends heavily on coin finds rather than documentary sources, making issues like this one primary historical evidence rather than mere illustration of it. Aksum was at this point a dominant Red Sea trading power, controlling the straits through which Indian Ocean commerce flowed toward the Mediterranean, and the gold coinage was almost certainly intended as much for international exchange as internal use.
The Hahn Ak#28 attribution places this within a relatively tight typological sequence, though die studies across the MHAC range suggest modest output — these were prestige emissions, not mass-circulation strikes.