Storic user :
"The specimen is beyond any doubt authentic."Good evening, I update you:
in another
forum they confirmed the authenticity of the coin and provided me with explanations.
"The first clue is given by the very strong and clear representation of the figure of
Christ Pantocrator on the right (where instead the
Byzantine names always place the
bust /
portrait of the emperor). Furthermore, the vividness of the
portrait of the Redeemer contrasts with the
Byzantine representations of the fullers of the VI-VII centuries who are much more standardized and less powerful.
On the
reverse we find the
legend XRE, where the X is a
christogram which stands for CRISTVS while RE stands for REGNAT
(sometimes we find XC RG with the same meaning; or XC IMPE: for Cristus IMPERAT)
in the
exergue we see XX
These clues make us lean towards an anonymous issue of the Capuan domination of Salerno, around the last quarter of the 10th century, a half-fuller classified as follows:
Cappelli "Study on the coins of the Salerno
Mint" 1972, n. 39 p. 14
Travaini inve attributes it to Roberto il Guiscardo (1077-1085), identifying the last issue of the Duke of Puglia in the replied fullers.
Travaini "The coinage of Norman
Italy" 1995, n. 34
and then also taken up by D'Andrea - Contreras "The Norman Coins of the Kingdom of
Sicily", 2015, n. 25 (quoted as fuller) p. 71
Both
Travaini and Contreras mention only fullers, while
Cappelli mentions the fuller (no. 38) and the half fuller (no. 39); the specimen above is clearly a half fuller in
weight and form. I would add that despite the restricted form, the image of the
Christ Pantocrator is exceptional in terms of power and expressive vigor. One more example of the extraordinary engraving ability of the artists of the
Italic area of the secc. VIII-X which can be admired in the papal-Byzantine siliquae and in some Lombard issues of the
Ravenna mint. Congratulations on the beautiful coin.
the specimen is clearly a fraz. of fuller (
Cappelli describes him as 'half fuller' for which he reports an
average weight of around 2 gr.).
The
attribution to Guglielmo would in fact seem the most likely for the
types taken by the fuller of larger dimensions (Hats n. 38 with
weights between 4 and 5 gr.) And for the shape of the
flan.
For the
attribution to Guiscardo, on the other hand,
Travaini speaks of fullers retorted from the closet of
San Salvatore from where 51 specimens of the fuller
type come from, which on the
reverse bear the
legend (X) CRE (
type 25b by D'Andrea - Contreras.
The fraction of follaro in question was also described in the volume of the Bellizia: "The coins of the
mint of Salerno" (Moliterno) 1992, at n. 70 p. 37.
Bellizia describes him as the fuller with similar
types - described in n. 69 of the same text - but with the edges cut out, precisely to reduce the
weight by actually creating a fraction. Bellizia also attributes it to Roberto il Guiscardo.
The specimen is beyond any doubt authentic."
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