Aww yeah! Got me some Barbarian Silver!

In the names of Anastasius and Theodoric, Gepid Kingdom
AR Quarter-Siliqua
Obv: DN ANASTASIVS P AV (several letters retrograde), pearl-diademed, draped bust right
Rev: INVICTA-AROMANA (blundered), monogram of Theodoric surrounded by legend, legend separated by cross above, star below
Mint: Sirmium (struck 491-518 AD)
Ref: Demo, 70-78
Size: 14 mm wide

I am very excited to report that I will be getting my very first Germanic silver! I have it reserved at the moment but I found I just couldn't keep this cool new acquisition to myself until it ships It is not the prettiest coin ever but it just reeks of cool history, so I hope you all enjoy the coin and post.

This uber-rare quarter-siliqua comes to us not from the major barbarian players of Western Europe such as the Ostrogoths, Visigoths, or Franks, but the smaller Gepid tribe, or the Gepidae in Latin. The mint city for this type is Sirmium, the well-known (to us ancients collectors) Roman mint city. By the early 6th century AD, Sirmium had been under control of various barbarian tribes for several decades; the Gepids themselves having moved into the city and made it their capital after the Ostrogoths migrated out of the region.

On the obverse has Byzantine emperor Anastasius's crudely engraved name and effigy, and on the reverse is Ostrogothic king Theodoric's monogram on the reverse. If I had to guess, owing to the Gepid Kingdom's placement between the Ostrogothic Kingdom and the Byzantine Empire, the Gepids thought it appropriate to pay homege to both of their powerful neighbors' rulers.

Here is a map of the region around Sirmium at this time (I only wish it showed more of the Ostrogothic Kingdom):



History of the Gepids:

The Gepids' earliest known place of origin have them being at the mouth of Vistula River (in modern Poland) in the 2nd to 3rd century AD. The Gothic historian Jordanes, writing in the 6th century, recorded their homeland as Scandinavia, and classified them as being a sub-tribe of the Goths. According to him, the Gepids got their name when the Goths crossed over in three ships from Scandinavia to the mouth of the Vistula. One of the ships had been the slowest in the crossing, and so later the Goths referred to the descendents of those on that last ship as gepanta, which meant "slow" or "sluggish" in their language. This most likely contributed to the Goths' viewing as the Gepids as lazy.

Along with their cousins the Goths, the Gepids gradually made their way down south, towards Dacia and the Roman Empire. And like the Goths they would sometimes conduct raids into Roman territory, and fight the other tribes in the area, nearly wiping out the Burgundians in the 4th century. The Gepids however, like many other barbarian tribes, could not escape domination by the Huns, who conquered them in the 370s AD. The Gepids now had to contribute to the Hunnic war machine, which ravaged both the Roman and Germanic lands.

It was a man named Ardaric that ruled over the Gepids during Attila's reign, and would later be considered the Gepids' greatest king. Ardaric had been a loyal commander for Attila, fighting at his side with his Gepid soldiers at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in Gaul in 451 AD, against the Romans and their barbarian allies. After Attila's death, Ardaric and the Gepids rebelled against their Hunnic masters, and leading a coalition of other subjugated tribes defeated the Huns at the Battle of Nedao three years later, thus permanently putting an end to the Huns' domination and terror and achieving their freedom.

This victory also served to legitimize the Gepids in the eyes of the Eastern Romans (Byzantines), and treaties were signed between them. Despite the failure of a joint effort with the Romans and other tribes to weaken the Ostrogoths, the Gepids managed to move deeper into Pannonia, making Sirmium their capital in the early 470s. They again came into conflict twice with the Ostrogoths and were defeated by them on both occasions, but no permanent territorial changes were made, and Sirmium was taken back by the Gepids in both instances.

Even with the Ostrogoths' downfall at the hands of the Byzantines, the Gepids would continue to be faced with other foes. The Lombards, with the support of the Byzantines, launched an invasion of Gepid territory, and handed the Gepids a terrible defeat that saw Gepid king Cunimund's death (with his skull made into a drinking cup for the Lombard king). The Gepid Kingdom was soon wiped out by a joint Lombard-Avar effort. The Gepid people, however, remained, with some joining the Lombards in their invasion of Byzantine Italy in 568, and most becoming subjects of the Avars.

Sources: http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Families/Family/47641
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gepids

When I receive this coin in hand I'm going to...

 

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Despite the sharkbite that is a very sharp-looking Gepid, wow!! Nice find.

 

Good on ya!

 

Very nice, never seen that type before.

My coin I have waited to arrive from UK came two days ago. Already partied hard myself. Probably share it near the end of the year.

 

Thanks all! Even in picture form I can't stop staring at it lol. It's just that cool to me.

 

wow, Jango => that's very cool ... very, very cool (congrats, totally jealous)

=> I even like the crazy broken-bit look (sweet)

Oh, and thanks for the info-effort

Cheers

 

Wow, impressively obscure! Never even heard of the Gepids before. I also like that Anastasius seems to be wearing a giant spiky caterpillar on his head .

 

curious, Jango? => how does a coin end-up looking like that? (it's not like somebody carved a piece from the coin ... it's kinda like the coin "broke" apart ... what gives?) ... tell me a coin-story

 

Very nice coin. I've never seen that coin before. Congrats once you receive.

 

awesome...that one is really one of my VK favs!

 

I'm not an expert on damaged coins like these but I'd say its just unfortunate damage; I doubt its was deliberately clipped since it looks way too big and obvious.

Oh you wanted a story? Let's see.... Once upon a time in the Gepid Kingdom there was a man named Stevearic. He was not too careful with his money. One day he sat down with a back pocket full of rare fragile siliquae. They broke. The end.

 

Thanks for the comments all!

 

That's a cool lookin' piece VK.

Best character ever!

 

I know how you feel about collecting a coin like this, VK. And I always learn something from your erudite acquisitions and essays. Kudos!

 

Cool find!

 

Thanks guys!

 

Here is a well-made (aside from having Sirmium as Byzantine) map of Europe and surrounding regions in the year 500. The Germanic kingdoms are fully in control of the former Western Roman Empire by this point, while the Eastern Roman Empire is still very much alive in its corner of the Mediterranean:

(click to enlarge)

 

Cool => thanks for the great map, Jango ...

So, how are you and your awesome black parrot doin' this weekend?

 

Great! My bird (named Baby) is living the good pet life as usual

Took this a while ago but this is him here:

 

Another coin i haven't seen before, love your new coin and your parrot too!!!