ANOTHER TREMISSIS FROM THE SALONITAN
MINT OF IULIUS NEPOS
UDC 671.4"0474/0480"(398)
737
Original Scientific! Paper
Received: 20. 04. 2004.
Zeljko Demo
Arheoloski muzej u Zagrebu
HR-10000 Zagreb, Trg N. Subica Zrinskog 19
zeljko.demo@zg.htnet.hr
The author attributes a tremissis of the emperor Nepos from the collection of the Museum of Croatian Archaeological
Monuments in Split to the mint in Salona. Attention is also drawn to similar examples and their frequent presence among
the gold coins of Nepos gathered in museum collections in Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The exis-
tence of five groups of Salonitan dies is noted (I-V), and the mutual connections or die links of many of the tremisses
known to date from Nepos' mint in Salona are of particular numismatic importance.
Several years ago a tremissis of the Roman emperor Julius Nepos was published in an exhibition catalogue of the Museum
of Croatian Archaeological Monuments in Split, along with 17 other late Roman gold coins, mostly from the 4^ and 5^
centuries (Fig. 1). The coin is part of the numismatic collection of the museum, which was founded in Knin in 1893, and
the majority of these gold coins were acquired around that time, i.e. "in the period of the intensive field activities of Father
Lujo Marun at the end of the 191^ and beginning of the 20th century". Unfortunately, the source and circumstances of
the finds were not noted for about half of the published specimens, including the coin of Nepos, and remain unknown
today. In this first publication, the tremissis of Nepos was classified according to Volume X of the RIC series (no. 3211),
and was attributed to the mint in Rome and dated to 474-475 (SEPAROVIC 2000, 32-33 no. 13).1
The coins of Nepos are interesting not merely because they were minted for the last legitimate Western Roman
emperor, nor because he came from the southern part of Croatia, from Dalmatia, where in the end he was treacherously
murdered, but because his gold and silver coins are very rare in general, having been minted on two occasions - during
his actual first reign (AD 474-475) and
during his nominal second reign (AD
476/7-480) - and in particular because
some of them were actually minted in
Nepos' native Dalmatia. The intention
of this paper is to show that the
tremissis of Nepos from the Museum
of Croatian Archaeological Monuments
was minted in Dalmatia, representing
the fifteenth example known to me
from the Salonitan mint of Nepos, and
tie. 1 - Mint in Salona: Nepos tremissis from 1 he Museum of Croatian Archaeological , , , , , . r
,/ . • r.;-* /3 ii \ indeed the seventh such specimen Irom
Monuments in Split (3x I Ix). r
* W. 1.43 g; 13 mm; ax. I. No inventory number was provided. For the same coin see, SEPAROVIC 2003, 112,151, No. 1062.
188
Illyrica antiqua
a numismatic collection of a museum or non-museum institution existing in the eastern Adriatic region, whether in
the coastal or the continental section.
The monetary activity of the Italic mints of Nepos was sketched in outline form by J.EC. Kent almost 40 years ago,
proving "that Odovacar acknowledged Nepos as Western Emperor, and coined for him down to his death in 480" (KENT
1966, 146-150, Pi. XI). By defining the existence of two periods of minting coins in the name of Nepos, Kent himself
crafted a space for the idea of the possible minting of coins of Nepos in Salona, the main city of the province of
Dalmatia, the starting point of Nepos' political career (magister militum Dalmatiae, 473; patricius, 474), and the place
to which he withdrew at the end of August 475, fleeing from Orestes and his troops. The "Salonitan" thesis was formed
and elaborated by G. Lacam exactly twenty years ago, encompassing only one gold denomination, the solidus, but
Lacam added to these two minting periods of Nepos, another minting that included the period immediately prior to
Nepos' departure for Italy in the late spring of 474 (LACAM 1983, 604-605, El. 37, 1-3). As no numismatic material
whatsoever from any museum in what was then Yugoslavia was used for Lacam's "Salonitan" thesis, and specifically
not from major museums in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, or Slovenia, it was imperative to review the situation,
compare material, and establish a difference if one indeed existed. Not merely did it exist, but the evidence proved
sufficient for distinguishing products of the Salonitan mint of Nepos, not to mention all that could be connected
to the existence of the latter (DEMO 1988, 247-270).2 Through analysis of the published and unpublished material
available to me, in 1988 I established the existence of 11 examples of gold coins of Nepos in two Croatian museums
(AM2, AMS), one in Bosnia and Herzegovina (ZMS), one in Slovenia (NMSlo), and one in the collection of the
former Societd istriana di archaeologia e storia patria (SIASF) of Porec, today somewhere in Italy (supposedly in
Trieste). Not a single specimen of a solidus of Nepos, nor an example of Lacam's Salonitan mint was represented. On
the contrary, in the above collections I could enumerate a total of eleven tremisses of Nepos, somewhat less than half
of them exhibiting recognizable typological characteristics of the tremisses of the mints of Rome, Ravenna, and Milan
from both periods of Nepos' reign [El. 1:1-5].3
IVLIVS NEFOS, 1st reign (24 June 474-28 August 475)
Roma, AD 475
1. AMS 343 - 1.45 g; 13/12 mm; ax. I [PL 1:1].
Palagruza Island; Josip Bunic Blagajic, lighthouse keeper on Falagruza, purchased 1908.
(DEMO 1988, 268 no. 16, 270 (PL 2:16); KIRIGIN 1998, 431, 438 Fig. 5).
Ravenna, AD 474
2. AMZ, coll. Benko Horvat (1928) - 1.45 g; 13.5 mm; ax. I [PL 1:2].
Purchased in Vicenza in 1915.
(DUKAT - MIRNIK 2004, 105 no. 21, 108).
Mediolanum, 475
3. AMS 188 - 1.45 g; 14/13 mm; ax. I [PL 1:3].
No data available.
IVLIVS NEFOS, 2nd reign (28 August/4 September 476-9 May 480)
Mediolanum, 476-477/8
4. NMSlo 25982 - 1.46 g; 14 mm; ax. 4 [PL 1:4].
No data available.
5. AMZ 25473 - 1.46 g; 13.5 mm; ax. i [PI. 1:5].
Dalmatia; Josip Frankin, Split.
In contrast to these, the remaining six tremisses had an unusual trait: with one exception all examples were mutually
connected (die linked) by the same reverse, formed according to the stylistic characteristics of the reverse die of the Milan
mint. Their very different obverses, however, exhibited unconcealed stylistic influences from all the contemporary mints
The existence of the Salonitan mint of Nepos has been accepted in principle in numismatic circles dealing with such themes,
although seemingly without a full consideration of all the historical and political repercussions of this numismatic problem, e.g.
GRIERSON - MAYS 1992, 185, 189; RIC X, 36, 206-207, 429 no. 3221 (PI. 69:3221).
Even for such a small number of registered tremisses, the representative ratio of the Italic tremisses minted in the name of Nepos
during his 1st and 2nd reigns has proven to be entirely normal statistically.
Zeljko Demo
189
of the Western Empire, starting from Milan (1), through Rome and Arelate (2-3), to the numerically most represented
obverse dies with depictions formed according to the model of the mint in Ravenna (4-6). All of this pointed to
minting activity by some new monetary center, which considering Nepos' origins, the historical circumstances, and
the political conditions in his time, would most likely have been located in Nepos' native homeland in Dalmatia, in the
main city of Salona or in its immediate vicinity (such as at Diocletian's Palace). The distribution pattern of the finds
along the eastern Adriatic coast and its interior permitted such a hypothesis, and the unusually extensive die linking of
incongruous coins of varied origin gathered in different museum collections eliminated the possibility that they had
ever belonged to any uniform hoard find. Three examples were in the Archaeological Museum in Split (AMS), and
one each in the State Museum in Sarajevo (ZMS), the National Museum of Slovenia in Ljubljana (NMSlo), and in the
collection of the Societd istriana di archaeologia e storia patria (SIASP) that consisted of numismatic material collected
in Istria. All of this together on the basis of the obverse formed five groups (Groups I-V).
Group I - Mediolanum style = DEMO 1988, No. 1.
1. NMSlo LJ 25656. - 1.42 g; 13.5 mm; ax. 4 [PI. 2:1].
No data available.
Group II - Roma/Arelate style = DEMO 1988, No. 5, 6.
2. AMS 125 - 1.46 g; 13 mm; ax. 4 [Pi. 2:2].
No data available.
3. AMS 344 - 1.44 g; 13 mm; ax. 4 [Pi. 2:3].
Vodice (vicinity), 1920.
Group III-V - Ravenna style = DEMO 1988, No. 8, 9, 13.
4. AMS 189 - 1.44 g; 13 mm; ax. 4 [PI. 2:4].
No data available.
5. SIASP (= GORINI 1974, No. 12) - 1.50 g; 13 mm; ax. 4 [PI. 2:5].
Pazin (L. Comisso, Pazin).
6. ZMS 832 - 1,45 g; 13 mm; os. 4 [PI. 2:6].
Bosnia, prior to 1901 (ex coll. Fojnica Monastery).
Such a typology allowed me to find and identify another five tremisses of the first three Salonitan groups (groups
I—III) gathered from the sale catalogues of several European numismatic and auction houses. The repertory of their
obverse dies introduced no changes, but the repertory of the reverse dies was broadened with three new ones: one
reverse for obverse group II (Bourgey), and two reverses for obverse group III (Riechmann, Hirsch and Sternberg).
The number of Salonitan obverse and reverse dies was equalized in this manner, and the number of 5 obverse and 5
reverse dies has remained unchanged to the present. With this, the number of Salonitan tremisses known has increased
from six to eleven examples.
Group I - Mediolanum style = DEMO 1988, No. 1.
1. MuM AG 38/1968, 657 (coll. Voirol).4
Group II - Roma/Arelate style = DEMO 1988, No. 7.
2. Bourgey 16-18/12/1913, 774 (coll. Ramon) - 1.46 g; ax. 4 [Pi. 3:2].
Group IV- Ravenna style = DEMO 1988, No. 10, 11, 12.
3. Riechmann XX/1922, 1481 (coll. Bahrfeldt) - 1.47 g; ax. 4 [PI. 3:3].
4. Hirsch XVIII/1907, 1770 (coll. Imhoof-Blumer) - ax. 4 [PI. 3:4].
5. Sternberg 28-29/11/1975, 524 - 1.43 g; ax. 4[PI. 3:5].
4 Ex Schulman 31/5/1938, no. 528 = Sternberg 30/11/1973, 499.
190
Illyrica antiqua
In the meantime, coins published in the numismatic literature and classified as products of the Milan mint can be
identified as examples of my Salonitan group I, distinguishable by the Milan model that they imitate (e.g. LACAM,
689 no. 1/BN, no. 4/Den Haag; RIC X, 429 no. 3221, Pi. 69:3221). Their similarity to the Milan tremisses of Nepos'
first reign seems to be so insurmountable that later researchers were unable to mark the difference and recognize the
unusual connection of Salonitan group I to an entire series of non-Milan tremisses from the eastern Adriatic museum
collections, or to note their special features and numismatic variety, such as the manner of writing the letter E in the
first part of the obverse legend, or the inescapable typological difference in the number of spikes on the reverse wreath,
with 14+14 spikes on the early Milan tremisses, and 14+15 spikes on those of Salona.
A similar inability to distinguish such elements last occurred a few years ago with the publication of a Salonitan
tremissis at long last uncovered in the numismatic collection of the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments,
the seventh specimen preserved in an eastern Adriatic museum collection, and the fifteenth example known from the
mint in Salona. The tremissis from the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments in Split is identical to the
tremissis from the collection of the Societd istriana di archaeologia e storia patria, formerly of Porec. Both tremisses
share the same Ravenna style of the IVA group of Salonitan tremisses, meaning that they represent a combination
of the obverse die of group IV and the most represented Salonitan reverse die, recognizable from the "Mediolanum"
appearance of the spikes, but with the "Salona" combination of 14 + 15 (type A). I attribute the tremisses of the
Salonitan group IV to the period of the second reign of Nepos (477-480), and the tremissis from the Museum of
Croatian Archaeological Monuments and the tremissis from the Societd istriana di archaeologia e storia patria to the
period of the first emissions, in other words in 477 and 478.
Novae zapadnorimskog cara Julija Nepota spada medu numizmaticke rijetkosti. U nevelikom broju njegovih dosada
objavljenih zlatnika i srebrnika osobito mjesto zauzimaju primjerci kovani u Dalmaciji u vrijeme Nepotove stvarne
vladavine (474.-475.) ali i kasnije sve do Nepotove nasilne smrti 480. godine. Uz osvrt na dosadasnja istrazivanja i sazna-
nja ovom se prigodom upozorava na jos jedan dosada nezamijecen Nepotov salonitanski otkov s nepoznatog nalazista
u Dalmaciji i danas u posjedu Muzeja hrvatskih arheoloskih spomenika u Splitu (MHAS).
Translated by: B. Smith-Demo
JOS JEDNA TREMISA IZ SALONITANSKE KOVNICE JULIJA NEPOTA
SAZETAK
BIBLIOGRAPHY
DEMO 1988
Zeljko Demo, The Mint in Salona: Nepos and Ovida (474-481/2), Simla 26 ( =
Studia numismatica Labacensia Alexandra Jelocnik oblata), Ljubljana.
DUKAT - MIRNIK 2004
Zdenak Dukat - Ivan Mirnik, Numizmaticka zbirka - Vodic/Numismatic Collection
- Guide, Vodici AMZ 1, Zagreb.
GORINI 1974
Giovanni Gorini, La collezione di monete d'oro della Societa istriana di archeologia
e storia patria, AMSI LXXIV (= n.s. XXII).
GRIERSON - MAYS 1992
Philip Grierson - Melinda Mays Catalogue of the Late Roman Coins in the Dumbarton
Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection. From Arcadius and Honorius to the
Accession of Anastasius, Washington D.C.
LACAM 1983
Guy Lacam, La Fin de I'empire romaine et la monnayage or en Ltalie, Luzern.
KENT 1966
John P C. Kent, Julius Nepos and the fall of the Western Empire, Romische Forschungen
in Niederosterreich V (= Corolla Memoriae Erich Swoboda dedicata), Graz-Koln.
KENT 1994
John P C. Kent, The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume X - The Divided Empire and
the Fall of the Western Parts AD 395-491, London.
Zeljko Demo
191
KIRIGIN 1988
SEPAROVIC 2000
SEPAROVIC 2003
Branko Kirigin, Late Roman Period on the Island of Vis and its Archipelago: The
Archaeological Evidence, Radovi XIII. medunarodnog kongresa za starokrscansku
arheologiju/Acta XIII Congresses internationalis archaeologicae christianae, Split-
Porec (25.9.-1.10.1994), Dio/Pars III, VAHD supl. vol. 87-89 = StudiAntCrist LIV,
Split-Citta del Vaticano 1998.
Tomislav Separovic, Anticki zlatnici iz Muzeja hrvatskih arheoloskih spomenika [Roman
Gold Coins from the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments], Split 2000 (no
summary).
Tomislav Separovic, Zbirka rimskog novca u Muzeju Hrvatskih arheoloskih spome-
nika [The Collection of Roman Coins in the Museum of Croatian Archaeological
Monuments], Katalozi i monografije 15, Split 2003 (no summary).
COLLECTIONS CITED:
AMS
AMZ
BNF
Den Haag
MHAS
NMSlo
SIASP
Archaeological Museum, Split
Archaeological Museum in Zagreb
Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris
Gemeente Museum (Kon. Kabinet van Munten, Penningen en Gesneden Steenen)
Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments, Split
National Museum of Slovenia, Ljubljana
Societa istriana di archaeologia e storia patria, Trieste
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS AND SALES:
Bourgey 16-18/12/1913 (coll. Ramon)
Hirsch XVIII/1907 (coll. Imhoof-Blumer)
MuM AG 38/1968 (coll. Voirol)
RiechmannXX/1922 (coll Bahrfeldt)
Schulman 31/5/1938
Sternberg 30/11/1973
Sternberg 28-29/11/1975
Etienne Bourgey, Paris
Jakob Hirsch (27/5/1907), Munchen
Miinzen und Medaillen AG (6/12/1968), Basel
A. Riechmann (18-20/9/1922), Berlin / Halle (Salle)
Jacques Schulman, Amsterdam
Frank Sternberg, Zurich
Frank Sternberg, Zurich
192
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PI. 1 - Nepos' tremisses minted in Roma, Ravenna and Mediolanum from the Museum Collections formed in Croatia, Bosnia &
Herzegovina and Slovenia (3x / Ix).
Zeljko Demo
193
Zeljko Demo
193
Illyrica Antiqua
International conference on issues in Ancient Archaeology, Zagreb, November 6-8, 2003
Conference internationale des problemes de I'archeologie antique, Zagreb, 6-8 Novembre 2003
International Konferenz zu Fragen der antiken Archaologie, Zagreb, 6-8 November 2003
Convegno internazionale sui problemi della archeologia classica, Zagabria, 6-8 Novembre 2003
Medunarodni skup o problemima anticke arheologije, Zagreb, 6.- 8. studenoga 2003.
Department of Archaeology
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
University of Zagreb
Archaeological Museum in Zagreb
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Illyrica Antiqua
International conference on issues in Ancient Archaeology, Zagreb, November 6-8, 2003
Special editions by the Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb
Publisher
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University of Zagreb
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For the publisher
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Cover
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