The currencies of the suabos emperors

The currencies of a small king

We can divide the production of Federico 11 for Sicily in three periods. First it includes/understands of 1 1 97 to 1208, and agrees with the regencyof its Constanza mother and after feudales dignitaries and indigenous gentlemen and German, because Federico had raised the throne just by three yearsof age. This production, that partly continues the one of Enrique I, is characterized by the introduction, in the obverse, of a small oneeagle, times monocéfala (with a single other head) and bicephalous (with two heads), element that will characterize during centuries the currenciessicilianas. In 1209 Federico it assumed the power personally and it did not take in pronouncing itself very resolute and sagacious in the political management. To thissecond period (that arrives until 1220) diverse gold currencies belong with letters F, FAITH and FC (monogramas of name of Federico),along with the name of its father, Enrique I, and letters in cúficos characters, inheritance of the Arab currencies, although now reduced to puredecorative element and deprived of a real meaning and a message. We also have currencies that present/display the traditional eagle already, andother that take two in center or more small globes. There are also some denari and mezzi denari of alloy (coined in Messina) thatthey celebrate the esponsales of Federico, hardly fifteen years, with Constanza de Aragón (1 209), and others, not less interesting from a point ofhistorical Vista, whose legend gathers the title of REX ROMANOR.. These last ones give testimony of the election of Federico like King ofRomans, celebrated in Germany in 1212 in Maguncia and Aquisgrán.

The currencies of the emperor

In 1220 Pope Honorio 111 crowned in Rome to Federico imperator Romanorum to semper augustus ET Rex Siciliae. To this last period, thathe includes/understands 29 years, belong currencies of great interest and artistic quality very well-taken care of, superior to the one of previous emissions. In ta@ithey appear legend F. IMPERATOR, the eagle and the Latin cross next to monograma of Christ (IC XC) and to victorious affirmation Nor KA.Also from this period they date the gorgeous augustales, gold currencies of very Latin flavor, that are also opposed to the previous ones ofgold and of bizantina and Arab derivation. The name reveals that the iconography sends specifically to the golden ones of old Rome: in the obversewe found, in effect, the picture of Federico in many variants (more or less great head, youthful and sometimes sometimes more mature face,outstanding or with crown of conventional laurel or), accompanied by the significant legend CAESAR AVG/IMP ROM.. Reverso presents/displays the name,accompanied by an eagle that if in the essential he has remained immutable, offers many variants of style and position. The great newnesstie to the birth of the augustal it is in the fact that to the gold currency a fixed and constant weight is assigned to him, 5.25 g, and one law of20 carats and means (as opposed to the one of tari, 16 and a third). The currency has great historical value, because it is the fruit of the most important onesMeifitanas constitutions of 1231, by which it was tried to equip the kingdom with a legislation of public and deprived right, able one ofto reorganize with solidity the government of southern Italy.To the third diverse period they belong denari of silver, between that we remembered, by his interesting historical entailment, those in whichit appears the name of Federico accompanied by the title of REX IERVSOLOMIT 0 F. ROMANOR IMP/IERL ET SICILI, from which it is evidentostentation of the dignity of king of contributed Jerusalem as it equips in 1225 by Isabel, daughter of Juan de Brienne, but mainly conqueredduring sixth crossed. Another emission characteristic of this last phase of the currencies of Federico represents denari, with whichthe State Treasury obtained high gains and that, with time, underwent an inflation more and more hard and, which is worse, was devaluated. new emissions were very frequent, and every time they presented/displayed one more a lower law, situation than it did not take in taking to one serious devaluation. If16 denari of 1209 contained 3.6 g of pure silver, 24 denari of the last emission (1249) only presented/displayed 0.6 precious metal g. !>