Absent Coinage: Archaeological Contexts and Tremisses on the Central Iberian Peninsula in the 7th and 8th Centuries AD

Abstract

ANALYSING MONETARY CIRCULATION in the Visigothic period on the central Iberian Peninsula has traditionally drawn on physical data, such as the gradual decline in weight of the tremisses, their lower gold assay, and the apparent reduction of money in circulation. Such changes are argued to signal a major crisis in the Visigothic state. In recent years, increasing numbers of coin finds from the Iberian Peninsula have appeared on the antiquities market, leading to a significant increase in the numbers of known tremisses — the only coin minted by the Visigothic state in the 7th and 8th centuries. Few finds have been discussed in terms of their archaeological and stratigraphic context. This paper responds by examining known and new coin finds retrieved from the vicinity of the capital of Toledo, giving close consideration to their archaeological and stratigraphic context. By analysing these finds, new perspectives are gained on patterns of monetary circulation in the 7th to 8th centuries.