After a long while I finally added another coin from Byzantine Rome/Ravenna to my collection. Most I had seen in this past year were either too expensive or I had narrowly missed (I had picked up a couple of Syracuse and a Catania-mint coin). This pentanummium (5 nummi) of Justin II is the same reverse type as my Justinian pentanummium from Rome but is attributed to Ravenna, which was the capital of the Western Roman Empire, then the Ostrogothic Kingdom, and afterwards of the Byzantine province of Italy. Hopefully that is dirt on the reverse that I could clean off. This coin was struck in an Italy recovering from the nearly two-decade long Gothic War (535-534 AD) that saw the destruction of the Ostrogothic Kingdom and the reestablishment of Roman rule in the old Roman heartland. None of the barbarian invasions of Western Europe that had occurred before were as devastating as the Roman reconquest of Italy (which the Eastern Romans had started). Justin II's reign saw this reconquest partially undone by the Lombard invasion of Italy, the last of the Germanic invasions. Justin II, Byzantine Empire AE pentanummium Obv: D N IVSTI-NVS P P AVG, pearl-diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right Rev: Large epsilon, cross to right, all within wreath Mint: Ravenna (struck 565-578 AD) Ref: SB 416 Roman Empire in 555 AD (Italy, North Africa, and southern Spain had just been reunited with the empire): Roman Empire in 600 AD (Italy was now divided between Roman and Lombard control. The Romans managed to retain control over Rome and Ravenna, among other Italian territories)
Congrats on adding a cool AE pentanummium to your 6th century hoard, my friend!! (another very Jango-esque addition) Oh, and thanks for the sweet maps (always a winner)
Love the coin, the write-up and maps and the history---- illustrating that the Roman Empire nearly was once reunited and its dissolution wasn't inevitable or preordained as some postulate---change or evolution into 'something else' is inevitable, and 'nothing lasts forever', but it's entirely feasible that remnants beyond what exist today could still have persisted into modern times under just slightly varying conditions. One of the many 'what if's' of history... The closest I still seem to have from that time (527-565 AD) is a Justinian half follis from Thessalonica:
Oh, and here is my Justin II pentanummium example ... ... but my baby is from the Cyzique Mint Justin II AE Pentanummium 565-578 AD Diameter: 14.7 mm Weight: 1.9 grams Obverse: Monogram Reverse: Large E; K right
nice coin and set up VK. getting a byzantine minted in italy is pretty high on my list, i'd take that one for sure. i only have one coin of justin ii anyway.
