Spain (695-702) tremissis
This specimen was lot 455 in Jean Elsen sale 164 (Brussels, March 2026), where it sold for €2,400 (about US$3,341 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"WISIGOTHS, Egica et Wittiza (695-702), AV tremissis, Ispali (Séville). D/ + I·D·I NM EGICA P+ B. affrontés de part et d'autre d'un sceptre cr. R/ IN PI NME VVITTIZIΛ P Monogramme d'Ispali au-dessus de trois globules. Très rare. Provient de la collection J. Druart et de Vico, Madrid, vente 135, 13 juin 2013, 362. Très Beau à Superbe. (Visigoths, Egica and Wittiza, 695-702, gold tremissis, Ispali mint. Obverse: two busts facing each other, a scepter between; reverse: monogram of Seville between three pellets. Very rare, Very Fine - Extremely Fine.)"
The Visigoths were a barbarian horde from the lower Danube who invaded the Roman empire in the fifth century as it collapsed. After various wanderings, they settled in southern France and established a kingdom. Driven out of Gaul by the Franks in the sixth century, the Visigoths set up shop in Spain, contending with the Suevi and the remnants of Byzantine rule. In 589, the kings renounced the Arian heresy and joined the Roman Catholic church. With church support, the kingdom survived until the coming of the Arabs in 711. Succession disputes led to constant civil war and there was little resistance to the Muslim invasion. Their coinage comprises gold tremisses almost exclusively, the tremissis being one-third of a Roman solidus. The contraction of trade and the shortage of gold meant that larger gold coins were not wanted or even feasible. Egica ruled starting in 687. He associated his son with him in 695, whose name thereafter appears on the coins. Egica died in 702 and Wittiza ruled until 710. This example is from Seville, one of twenty mints which struck this type.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: gold. This specimen is 1,38 g.
Catalog reference: Cayón-440, Miles -; CNV 566.24.
- Cayón, Adolfo, Clemente Cayón and Juan Cayón, Las Monedas Españolas, del Tremis al Euro: del 411 a Nuestros Dias, vol. 1, Madrid: Cayón-Jano S.L., 2005.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 164: Monnaies du duché de Brabant et du royaume de Belgique, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2026.
Link to:
- Spain (680-87) tremissis, Toledo mint, Erwig
- Coins and currency dated 695