As some of you probably remember, coins of the Germanic peoples such as the Ostrogoths, Visigoths, and Franks is one of my main areas of collecting. Obtaining these slowed down in recent years due to rising prices and me having diversified somewhat into new areas and placed more focus in other less collected areas. With my Ostrogothic coinage, I've been trying to get at least one coin from each king (with their name spelled out or in monogram form) that ruled Italy or a part of Italy. Coins of the last king, Teia/Theia, are very rare so I doubt I'll be obtaining one anytime soon, and Illibad and Eraric do not have known coins (a couple of monogram nummi have surfaced for the latter but are believed to be modern Serbian fakes), so that leaves Theodoric (493-526 AD), Athalaric (526-534 AD), Theodahad (534-536 AD), and Witiges (536-540 AD). For Theodoric, I have a coin struck under him so that is fine for me for now until I obtain a coin with his monogram. Recently though, I was finally able to obtain a coin of Witiges. The bidding for it was rough but I got it for a price I thought was good and that I feel comfortable with. What makes this more special for me is that obtaining this coin "rights a wrong" for me for lack of a better description. Several years back I had purchased a Witiges of the same type but the deal fell through and I never got it, and since then I was always somewhat annoyed by it whenever I thought about that coin (I think this was the event that gave me a hard lesson on not posting a coin before it arrives!). This coin though, is definitely in better shape than the other one. Witiges, Ostrogothic Kingdom AE decanummium Obv: IN[VIC-TA ROMA], Roma helmeted, facing right Rev: D N / VVIT / ICES / REX, legend within wreath, X below Mint: Ravenna Date: 536-540 AD Ref: MIB 84/3, BMC 13 Witiges (also spelled Witigis, Vitiges, or Vitigis) was a general who was elected as king of the Ostrogoths in 536 AD by a Gothic council in the aftermath of the fall of Naples to the Byzantines. The Byzantine Empire had invaded Ostrogothic Italy the previous year as part of its attempt to recover the lost western territories and reunite the whole Roman Empire. The war was going badly for the Ostrogoths; before losing Naples, Sicily had been lost as well, and the Ostrogoths were angered at the course of the war as it was being waged by their king Theodahad. Shortly after becoming king, Witiges arranged for the assassination of Theodahad as he was fleeing Rome for Ravenna on the Via Flaminia. Witiges then met with his council in Rome; they decided to strategically retreat to northern Italy to gather all the soldiers they could, and also defend the Ostrogoth capital Ravenna from a possible Byzantine attack from Dalmatia. Nonetheless, a small Gothic garrison was left behind to defend Rome, but knowing that the Roman population was hostile towards it, they fled though the Flaminian Gate at the same time as Byzantine general Belisarius and his army entered the city through the Asinarian Gate. Before this, when Witiges himself had retreated, he had also taken Roman senators hostage to ensure the Senate's loyalty to the Ostrogoths. (Belisarius) Due to the few forces available to Belisarius, he was unable to press his advantage. This provided enough time for Witiges to assemble his army and attempt the recapture of Rome in 537 AD. Belisarius, however, also took this time to make all the necessary measures to prepare the city for the siege. Right before the siege, a plea from Witiges to the city's inhabitants to return to Gothic rule was rebuffed. Around 25,000 Gothic warriors encamped outside of the city walls, facing off against the Roman garrison of 5,000. The siege was fierce and lasted for a year. The population of Rome, already far below in numbers from what it was during the height of the empire, was further reduced as a result of the siege. Their unhappiness and hardship grew by the day, and Witiges took advantage of this by promising free passage to the Byzantine army if the city was given up, but this was refused by Belisarius, replying: "...As for Rome, moreover, which we have captured, in holding it we hold nothing which belongs to others, but it was you who trespassed upon this city in former times, though it did not belong to you at all, and now you have given it back, however unwillingly, to its ancient possessors. And whoever of you has hopes of setting foot in Rome without a fight is mistaken in his judgment. For as long as Belisarius lives, it is impossible for him to relinquish this city." After a Gothic assault during the siege had ended in failure, the furious Witiges dispatched orders to Gothic-controlled Ravenna to have the hostage senators executed, and then order some of his soldiers to take the Portus Claudii at Ostia in an effort to further deny supplies to the Byzantines. Later, a Byzantine counterattack was repulsed with many killed as a result. (Gothic army under attack) (Byzantines holding out against the Ostrogoths at the Mausoleum of Hadrian. Statues and other objects from the mausoleum were used as projectiles against the attackers) Similarly to the Roman defenders, Witiges and his army were wracked by famine and disease, and so made another attempt to obtain Rome through diplomacy: And the barbarians said: "[...] we give up to you Sicily, great as it is and of such wealth, seeing that without it you cannot possess Libya in security." And Belisarius replied: "And we on our side permit the Goths to have the whole of Britain, which is much larger than Sicily and was subject to the Romans in early times. For it is only fair to make an equal return to those who first do a good deed or perform a kindness."* The barbarians: "Well, then, if we should make you a proposal concerning Campania also, or about Naples itself, will you listen to it?" Belisarius: "No, for we are not empowered to administer the emperor's affairs in a way which is not in accord with his wish." (Dialogue between Belisarius and the Gothic embassy, Procopius, De Bello Gothico II.VI) *Britain had been abandoned by the Romans in the previous century, meaning Belisarius had sarcastically replied to the Goths by offering something that the Romans/Byzantines no longer possessed since the Goths had offered something that they themselves were no longer in possession of (Sicily) Despite the failure to achieve a negotiated end to the siege, a three-month ceasefire was agreed to, in order to allow an Ostrogoth envoy to travel to Constantinople and enter negotiations there. During this time, reinforcements were gradually brought into the area around Rome by the Byzantines. The truce was eventually broken by the Ostrogoths, when they sent some of their soldiers in a failed attempt to sneak into the city. The breaking of the ceasefire prompted Belisarius to order one of his generals, John, to carry out an offensive that resulted in the capture of the towns of Picenum and Ariminum. Due to the latter's close proximity to Ravenna, this convinced Witiges to raise the siege against Rome in 538 AD and retreat with his forces to defend the capital. Seeing that the war was going badly for the Ostrogoths, Witiges made contact with the Franks for assistance, and they replied by sending around 10,000 Burgundians that helped conquer Mediolanum for the Ostrogoths. He also sent envoys to the Sassanian king Khusrau I to convince him to attack the Byzantines and open a second front in the east. Soon, however, Frankish king Theudebert I turned against Witiges and led an invasion of northern Italy against both the Ostrogoths and the Byzantines. But disease quickly put an end to the Frankish invasion. The Gothic envoys sent to Constantinople had returned with an offer from Justinian to end the war with a partition of Italy along the Po River: Byzantines in control to the south of the river and the Ostrogoths in control north of it. Belisarius refused to sign this agreement, perceiving the emperor's offer a betrayal to all his efforts and achievements during the war. The Goths then offered to make Belisarius western emperor; he pretended to accept the offer, which allowed him to enter Ravenna with his army, in 540 AD. Once inside, he revealed his deception and took the city for the Byzantine Empire. Witiges and his wife Matasuntha were taken prisoner and sent to Constantinople. They were well treated by Justinian, with Witiges being made a patrician. However, Witiges died soon after in Constantinople, in 542 AD. Sources for information and non-coin photos: Wikipedia Blogspot Wordpress HistoryCollection.com
Congratulations on the capture of a white whale! Nice long read, too - thank you for that. It's a period of history I haven't studied well. Is the first letter on the coin actually W? Was W part of the Roman alphabet by that time? Or is it VV?
Great read and congrats on getting a long-time wanted coin. What's the weight of the coin? 1g or less?
I read the Robert Graves' book Count Belisarius, it tells the story of the wars in Italy and Africa and eventually, the base ingratitude of Justinian towards his most prominent general. At the end of his life Belisarius purportedly was a poorly clad, nearly blind and broken old man who could only beg for alms in the streets of Constantinople. That is probably not likely, but if Hollywood ever optioned the book for a movie they would keep it in the script. Nice write-up and coin!
@ValiantKnight ....Super coin! And very interesting article.I thoroughly enjoyed it and great to come away having learnt something thanks!
my example Witigis (536- 539) Æ 10 Nummi (4.63g 15mm) Ravenna INVICTA ROMA, helmeted bust of Roma right DN-VVIT-ICES-REX within wreath terminating in X. Metlich 92; BMC Vandals 11-13
It's two V's, which at some point become a W. Depending on the Spanish country you are in W has different translations. I like the term "doble ve" which means two V's. The Germans adopted this double V and you see it still with words like Wagner which is pronounced as Vagner.
I'm very happy for your success in obtaining this coin. . 1. Because you wanted it, and I enjoy when someone is able to add to their collection. 2. Because I like looking at coins, especially coins that I know nothing about (which is just about all Ancients). 3. Because I like learning about coins, especially coins that I know nothing about, lol. 4. Because I love history, and thoroughly enjoyed your informative writeup. So, I say again, I'm glad you got this coin. Thanks for posting it and the great info.
It is V V (as you can see on the coin). Two V are possible in Latin, like in VVA (grapes), IVVENTVS (youth). The Germans and Goths had a sound in their language that was not the Latin V, and was nearer the two Vs. They adopted it and it became long after our letter W. But how did they pronounce it? Wu? Voo? I think the Northern Germans pronounced it like today in English, while others pronounced it like V.
First, linguistically Germans and Goths are the same, both groups spoke Germanic languages. The Goths spoke an East Germanic language in contrast to North and West-Germanic. The whole group of East Germanic is now extinct. Second, Latin V and Germanic W underwent similar transformations. Latin V started out as a U-sound (in classical Latin). Hence, VICTORIA was pronounced U-ICTORIA, VENVS = U-ENUS. In late antiquity V shifted away from U to modern V/W. When the OP coin was made, Latin V had already shifted to V/W, which is why a different letter (ligature VV) was used to convey the true sound of Witiges' name (i.e. Uitiges) The German letter W later underwent the same transformation as Latin V, i.e. from U to V/W. In Old Saxon (around AD 800) the god Wodan is still written Uodan (Uoden)*. Only Anglo-Saxon (English) retained the original W-U, which is why W is actually called "double-U" and not "double-V". Finally, congratulations to the nice Witiges-Deka. * In North Germanic the initial U was dropped altogether which resulted in the name Oden/Odin.
Thanks for the great write-up on King Witiges. Below are some of my coins of this ruler from my collection: A Half-Siliqua Obv.: DN IVSTI NIANPV Rev.: DN VVIT . ICES REX Mint: Ravenna Date: 536-540 Another Half-Siliqua Obv.: DN IV-ST INANVAC Rev.: DN VVIT ICES REX Mint: Ravenna Date: 536-540 Another Half-Siliqua Obv.: DN IVSTIN IAN [VSPF] AV Rev.: DN VVIT ICES REX Mint: Ravenna Date: 536-540 Another Half-Siliqua Obv.: DNIV--- NIANICIVC Rev.: DN VVIT IGIS REX Mint: Ravenna Date: 536-540 Note the spellling Witig-i-s is much rarer than Witig-e-s. However, the spelling Witigis may be preferable as it corresponds to Witigis' Name in German sagas Witichis and other Germanic names like Artachis. A Quarter-Siliqua Obv.: DNIVSTI NIANVIII Rev.: Monogram of Theoderic Mint: Ravenna Date: 536-540 These coins are often attributed to the reign of Amalasuntha (Theoderic's daughter). However, there can be no doubt that they were minted under Witigis. Witigis was not of the Amal bloodline and sought to associated himself with Theoderic by placing the great king's monogram on his coins. Another Quarter-Siliqua Obv.: DNIVSTI ---VISI Rev.: Monogram of Theoderic Mint: Ravenna Date: 536-540
Wow thanks for all the posts, coins shared, and likes everyone! Glad everyone here enjoyed my coin and the history behind it! Thanks Mat. It weighs in at 3.52 grams. Appreciate it Ryro, thanks! Hopefully @Peter T Davis thinks so as well! All amazing Witiges coins. Thanks for sharing! Ah, I see vvhat you did there!
View attachment 1401342 View attachment 1401342 V.K., That's an excellent addition to your collection . It took a long time for an Ostrogothic king to put his name on a coin & I'm sure the Romans weren't happy it . I have an example of that coin type from an earlier king pictured above.
I agree, there are no coins of Ildebad (Hildebad) and Eraric. Coins attributed to these two kings are either modern fakes or misattributed Langobardic coins. You forgot to mention Baduila (Totila). He was the other most notable Gothic king next to Theoderic. Baduila led the second phase of the Gothic war and won many victories against the Romans. His coins are, of course very rare, but obtainable. NB, when we talk about "the Romans" in the context of the Gothic war, we typically mean other Germanic tribes. Rome employed Langobards, Heruls and Gepids, while Alamanni and Franks (sort of) fought (at times) on the Gothic side. Lastly, according to Metlich, coins of the last Gothic king Teia/Theia/Tejas are "surprisingly plentiful". I think this view is distorted by a relatively "common" (meaning a couple of coins) occurance in important public collections. However, I totally agree with your observation. They are excessively rare. I have one Half-Siliqua of Theia (which I will show later) and which is the only one I have ever seen for sale. As for rarity in general, Metlich correctly notes that all Gothic coins are very rare. The surviving coins have probably escaped deliberate efforts to melt down and recoin Gothic coins after the final demise of the Gothic kingdom in AD 554.
