A gold coin of the Roman emperor Anthemius (467 – 472 AD) from Črnomelj

Abstract

During construction work in the centre of Črnomelj in 2019, archaeologists discovered a gold coin from the period of Late Antiquity. This tremissis of the Roman emperor Anthemius was minted in Rome 467–472. It has two special features: a lower weight than the average for tremisses, and grafitti on the reverse of the coin. The great variety of the types and quantities of the minted solidi of Anthemius is partially reflected in the hoard finds discovered in Italy and northern Europe. In terms of the published coins, it can be established that there are few single finds of the coins of Anthemius, and among them tremisses are especially rare. Investigation of the distribution of single-coin finds outside and inside the Empire has shown that tremisses of Anthemius are very rare. The monetary circulation on the territory of presentday Slovenia in the second half of the 5th century almost ceased, and the small number of coins could well indicate a transition to a barter system. Gold coins otherwise predominate in the circulation; they must be connected, most probably, either to the military or to the work of the provincial administration.