Verdex
Verdex
18 December 2022, 00:34

Tremises from the collection of John Francis de Salis

Tremises from the collection of John Francis de Salis
At the end of the Roman Empire, in the period of late antiquity, a new gold coin appeared - the tremissis. At first it was equal to 1/3 of the aureus, later - 1/3 of the solidus. The emperor Theodosius I introduced the tremiss into circulation in the 380s, and continued to mint it in the Byzantine Empire until the 9th century. After that, in some places these coins remained in circulation, for example, in Sicily, where they paid off until the 12th century.
An impressive collection of tremisses was collected by the British diplomat Count John Francis de Salis. The numismatist gave several hundred copies to the British Museum in exchange for unhindered access to the exhibits. Thus, the count got the opportunity to freely study and classify ancient Roman coins, and devoted the last years of his life to this matter. In 1859–1869 he almost daily studied the fund and archive of the museum.

The tremiss below was minted in 461-465, during the reign of the Western Roman emperor Libius Severus, whose portrait is depicted on the obverse. The coins of Libya Severus were minted in Rome, Ravenna and Arelate (today the city of Arles in France). The reverse depicts the goddess Victoria.
The next tremiss was made in 518–527, when the Byzantine Emperor Justin I (Flavius Justinus) was on the throne. The ruler did nothing special. Historians describe him as a simple man (in his youth, Justin served as an ordinary legionary), who could not write. On the obverse we see his portrait, on the reverse Victoria is again depicted: in her right hand she holds a wreath, in her left she has a globus cruciger - a symbol of royal power.
Next, let's take a look at one of the tremisses minted in the last decade of the 6th century, when Byzantium was ruled by Flavius Mauricius Tiberius. Mauritius became famous as an outstanding commander who defeated the Persians. At the same time, he made sure that science and art developed in the country. The portrait of Mauritius adorns the obverse, the reverse depicts chrism - a monogram of the name of Christ from two letters of the Greek alphabet: "X" and "P".
In the middle of the 7th century, tremisses of Constant II (Constans II) with his image came into circulation. Under this emperor, Byzantium lost control of Egypt and lost part of the territories that passed to the Arabs. Unsuccessful were campaigns in Italy, which remained under the control of the Lombards. On the reverse we see a crutch cross, or cross potent (cross poten) - one of the most famous heraldic symbols, part of the cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher.
The last tremiss was minted in 702–712. in the Lombard kingdom, when it was ruled by Aripert II (Aripert II). The Lombards, after the adoption of Christianity, were federates of Byzantium and borrowed a lot from the empire. Aripert II maintained friendly relations with Pope John VI, and gave him vast lands. The reverse of the coin depicts Saint Michael with a long cross and shield.

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