Palermo Golden coin tari of King Roger II 1151 A.D. – 546 A.H.

    Coin (quarter dinar, called the tarì) of Roger II, king of Sicily, of a type marking a new development as compared with the coinage at the start of the reign. On the obverse, the field bears an inscription no longer arranged in lines, but in a circle. The text is in Arabic and gives the king the title "Exalted by God", in the full meaning of the Islamic tradition. On the reverse, the field is no longer divided into four cantons. The symbols of the motto "Jesus Christ, the Victor", in Greek characters, are placed under the arms of a large cross, itself surmounted by a smaller cross. The legend, on the obverse, bears the name of the mint: "Mâdina Siquilliyya" (Medina of Sicily). To complement this identification in Arabic of the city of Palermo, the date of issue is given in the legend on the reverse: the year 546 of the Moslem calendar (1151)..

Dimensions of the object
Diameter 12 mm ; weight 1.02 g

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)

Location
Palermo, Biblioteca  Comunale

Photography
G.  Cappellani