Sicily Golden coin tari of King William II 1182 A.D. - 577 A.H.

    Gold coin (quarter dinar, called the tarì) struck under the reign of William II (1166-1189) in 577 of the Moslem calendar (1182). On the obverse, the king's name and title with very Islamic connotations ("King William desirous of being exalted by God") are indicated in a circular inscription in Arabic characters arranged around a small cross in the middle of the field. On the reverse, we again find the cross and the Greek abbreviation of the motto "Jesus Christ the Victor". The clipped edges make it impossible to read the legend or to identify the mint, and only the date is legible. This tarì is substantially heavier than the coinage of earlier reigns. Although it is not known why this is so, one notes that this was a time when Sicily saw notable economic growth.

Dimensions of the object
Diameter 12 mm ; weight 1.74 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