Early Medieval Coins in the Collection of LEIZA

The archaeometric analyses of the Ostrogothic coins from the LEIZA’s collection, as well as the inclusion of all known finds of Ostrogothic coins in Italy, yielded important insights that make the late Roman heritage very clearly felt in the coinage of the Ostrogoths. After the Italic coin issues of the last Western emperor in 476, the minting of gold and silver coins was again concentrated in the capital of the Ostrogothic king, while mints both in Rome (see the coins marked SC in keeping with tradition) and in Ravenna produced the bronze money. The firm connection to the emperor in the East could not be overlooked, as Ostrogothic gold was minted almost exclusively in his name. It was not until the war with Byzantium for control of Italy that the Ostrogothic kings’ claims to power unfolded in the coinage. Thus, Theodahat dared to mint a follis with his portrait and the legend D(ominus) N(oster) Theodahatus Rex – according to archaeometric analyses, a pure copper coin that could be equated with the Byzantine follis in its metal composition.

Furthermore, the systematic archaeological and chemical-analytical processing of the Merovingian gold coins of the LEIZA provides insights into the development of the coinage economy of the Early Middle Ages. The analyses of gold coins of the Merovingian period have shown that tremisses (third solidi) were generally accepted as a means of payment, regardless of a strongly fluctuating fineness. This proves the persistence of a coinage economy according to the basic principles of late Roman antiquity, which was characterised by trust in the equivalent value of a coin guaranteed by the mint or moneyer rather than its material value.