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Tremissis - Sico
| Issuer | Benevento (Lombard Kingdom) |
|---|---|
| Year | 817-832 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A long cross pattée on steps occupies the central field, flanked by the letters S to the left and C to the right, which may appear retrograde or inverted depending on the die variety. A secondary smaller cross appears above the main cross. The entire design is encircled by a Latin circular legend invoking the Archangel Michael, patron of the Lombard principality of Benevento. |
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| Mintage | ND (817-832) - S and C retrogrades and inverted on reverse. ND (817-832) - S prograde on reverse. ND (817-832) - S retrograde on reverse. |
| Additional information |
Sico ruled Benevento as prince from 817 until his death in 832, having seized power by murdering his predecessor Grimoald III's son. The Lombard principality of Benevento was by this period the last substantial Lombard political entity in Italy, surviving long after Charlemagne extinguished the northern kingdom in 774. Its coinage continued the Byzantine tremissis tradition almost by inertia — Benevento had no particular reason to abandon a monetary form that local markets already accepted.
The electrum content of these late Lombard tremisses is notably debased relative to earlier issues, a degradation that tracks across the eighth and ninth centuries with some consistency.