Palermo Golden coin tari of King Tancred 1189 – 1194 A.D. - 585 –590 A.H.

    Gold coin (quarter dinar, called the taŕ) struck under the reign of Tancred of Lecce, king of Sicily (1184-1194). This type of coinage is related to that of previous reigns, with the king's title in Arabic in a circular inscription, on the obverse, and a Christian symbol on the reverse. The incomplete legend indicates the mint but not the date. There are two notable changes. Tancred, the last Norman king of Sicily and the disputed successor of William II on account of his illegitimate birth, is called "Victorious by the grace of God". The cross on the reverse divides the field into four parts bearing the Greek characters of the motto "Jesus Christ the Victor", as on coins at the beginning of the reign of Roger II (1130-1154), but it is still surmounted by the small cross that appeared later on and was kept under William I (1154-1166) and William II (1166-1189).

Dimensions of the object
Weight 1.085 g ; diameter 14 mm

Bibliography
- "L'età normanna e sveva in Sicilia", Catalogo della mostra storico-documentaria e bibliografica. Organizzata dall' Assemblea Regionale Siciliana nel Palazzo dei Normanni a Palermo, 1994 (Monete serie III a cura di M. De Luca).
- B. La Gumina "Catalogo delle monete arabe esistenti nella Biblioteca Comunale di Palermo" Palermo 1892

Location
Palermo, Biblioteca comunale

Photography
G.  Cappellani