Hi guys, Here is a very rare billon fractional dirham that was minted during the short and tumultuous reign of the last true Norman King of Sicily, Tancred of Lecce. I will not bother you with his life story so here is a link to his bio. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tancred-king-of-Sicily These little coins are undated and were either minted in Palermo or Messina from 1189-1194. A pity that Tancred died when he did, he would have made a great king who left a stable dynasty and Kingdom had he lived. Reign 1189-1194 CE Denomination billon fractional dirham RARE Date Struck N/A Mint Palermo/Messina, Italy Obverse Arabic legend (Kufic style) with a cross in center. Reverse Arabic legend (Kufic style) Weight 0.49 gr. Diameter 9 mm. Reference Spahr 138, Zeno 30279, Jean Elsen List 236 lot 937 Grade good very fine CommentsTancred (died 20 February 1194) was King of Sicily from 1189 to 1194. He was born in Lecce an illegitimate son of Roger III, Duke of Apulia (the eldest son of King Roger II) by his mistress Emma, a daughter of Achard II, Count of Lecce. He inherited the title "Count of Lecce" from his grandfather and is consequently often referred to as Tancred of Lecce. Although a member of the Hauteville family, due to his illegitimate status he was known by the surname, Fitz Roger, meaning "son of Roger". Born: 1138, Lecce, Italy Died: February 20, 1194, Palermo, Italy Parents: Roger III, Duke of Apulia Children: William III of Sicily, Roger III of Sicily Some pictures of Sicilian-Norman Knights and the Kingdom. And King Tancred himself. Post your Norman or Sicilian-Norman coins.
Very nice! I would love to delve into these southern Italian issues more... perhaps once I invest in the MEC book for the region. As of now, I still just have the William II (and I am envious of the route you are going!) Kingdom of Sicily William II, r. 1166-1189 A.D. Messina Mint, AE Follaro, 17.23mm x 1.7 grams Obv.: + OPERATAT IN VRBE MESSANE outside, O / REX W / SCOVS in center (OV ligate) Rev.: Arabic legend "al'malik / Ghulyalim / al-thani" (King William 2nd) in center, "bi-amr al-malik al-musta'izz" around edge
Lovely coin Fitz. I plan to finish off my Eastern Roman Trachy collection soon and then collect the rest of the Norman Kings of Sicily. Here is a Norman coin from the Duchy. Richard the Fearless AR Denier. 942-996 CE 1.43 grams
Where these minted at Messina AND Palermo? I'm asking because between autumn 1190 and early spring 1191 Messina couldn't have minted anything as it was used as base for Philip's and Richard's armies on their way towards the Holy Land, after being conquered and sacked after animosity between Tancred and the crusader forces had reached a climax by October 1190. By the time Tancred agreed to Richard's terms it was already March 1191. These issues also seem earlier rather than later, keeping with the William II tradition. So if Messina, maybe before mid-late 1190?
@seth77 I am a noob when it comes to these so don't take this for a fact. I think this coin was minted in Palermo, but the dealer said it was minted in either Messina or Palermo. Any help would be much appreciated.
Yes, this is what I also suspect. Apparently Palermo was already a predilect mint for the kharuba during William's reign. I'm not an expert on these either, so I'm just speculating here.
I'll chime in by saying I don't know, but I would suspect it's a pseudo-legend considering there's a big cross in the middle of the obverse
It should be, it's your husband's cousins from the south If anyone has any coins from the Norman Kingdom of Sicily then please post them here.
Very nice coin @Magnus Maximus! I have a soft spot for Norman Sicilian coins. Your particular coin can be read, unlike several of the other Norman Sicilian coins that are written in pseudo-culfic legends. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find my references to aid in the transcription of that coin. In fact, I have several coins that needs to be transcribed and I am far behind . In the meantime, excuse me for the lack on proper legends in the following coins: Norman Sicily: Tancred (1189-1194) AV Tari, ND (MEC-199) Norman Sicily: Roggero II (1130-1156) AV Tari, NM, ND (Spahr-69, Travaini-217) Norman Sicily: Guglielmo I (1154-1166) AV Tari, NM, AH549 (Spahr-88)
Great coins/map/writeup! Sadly, i l have no Norman coins issued in Siclly But.... I have some issued under German Hohenstaufen Rulers, here is one of them. AV Double Tari ND 11mm./2.69g. Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich II of Hohenstaufen Messina Mint
Very nice coins Quant. Geek! Really tough to get them in perfect quality. The Tancred AV Tari is super nice.
Took me a while, but I think I figured it out. I still need to verify the legends though using my references which I still can't find ... Your coins are actually reversed and the last line is a bit difficult to read. I had to go to Zeno #30279 to see the last line. Obv: الملك / تنقرير / المعظم (King Tancred, the Magnificent) Rev: بالله / + / المعتز (Victorious, through God) As a general rule to Norman Sicilian coinage, here are some terms to help in attributing the coins: الدوقة (ad-duqah; Duke) القومس (al-qumis; Count) المالك (al-malik; King) السلطان (as-sultan; Sultan) المعتز بالله (al-mu'tazz bi-allah; Victorious through God) المقتدر (al-muqtadir; the Strong) المعظم (al-mu'azzam; the Magnificent) ابارت (Ubart; Robert) رجار (Rudschar; Roger) غليالم (gulielm; Guglielmo/Wilhelm) تنقرير (tanqrir; Tancred) Here is a snippet from Medieval European Coinage, Volume 14 describing Tancred's coinage. Not much about these fractional dirhams unfortunately. It is attributed as MEC XIV, 446...
That is a very nice eagle and more profound than the one I have! These coins all have pseudo-kulfic legends on them: Hohenstaufen Sicily: Frederick II (1198-1250) AV Tarì, Brindisi (Spahr 66-69; MIR-76; D’Andrea-140; MEC 529-31) Obv: Circular pseudo-Cufic legend; in center, crowned eagle looking left, with dot above left wing Rev: Cross between IC XC NI KA
Very cool, thanks for that. It seems that these little dirham fractions are really rare if they only have a line or two describing them.
Here is another one from Hohenstaufen Rulers: Ex: Baron Von Brueck Coll. 3 Tari d'oro ND Brindisi Mint 13mm./3.23g. Konrad I 1250-58 of Hohenstaufen/Holy Roman Emperor