[gothic-l] Re: Trailing the Eruli in the North - solidi

[troels_brandt]

Dirk,

The map you mentioned below was realy a help showing that
Constantinople probably was the mint of the Empire with the easiest
access to the Danube except for the Ostrogothic mints - especially as
the smaller one in Thessalonica first opened in 498 AD.

I also looked at other pages at that site (Smithsonian Museums)
finding this statement:

"Constantinople was by far the most prolific and longest lasting of
Byzantine mints.  The mint mark CONOB had become fixed on gold solidi
as gold was only struck at Constantinople during the reigns of
Anastasius I and Justin I; it appears on most subsequent Byzantine
gold coins regardless of whether or not they were actually struck at
the capital. This was not the case with the subsidiary denomintions
in bronze. Variations of the mint mark include CON, CONOB, CONOS and
COB."

Is all this correct?

If we then assume, that golden solidi from around 500AD and the
previus two decennies brought to Sweden from the Danube area were not
Ostrogothic, we should in my opinion expect them to be stamped with
the mark from Constantinopel - which you actually told they are.

This is also what I understand from your more cautious text below,
but to be sure, as I have not studied this area: Do you agree, if my
assumption regarding payments from the Ostrogoths is correct?

As the solidi in Scandinavia are all from Constantinopel and none
from the Ostrogoths it is in my opinion indicated that this is not
due to various trade routes, but due to one or more specific
connections/reasons.

Troels

--- In gothic-l at y..., "faltin2001" <dirk at s...> wrote:
>
> Troels,
>
> the following link takes you to a map of the Byzantine/East Roman
> mints.
>
> http://americanhistory.si.edu/csr/nnc/byzant/imapmint.htm
>
> The map states a timeframe from 498 to 1453. However, the main
mints
> were the same in the period 450 to 500. Of course, Carthage was
ruled
> by the Vandals at that time and the Italian mints were under
> Ostrogothic control from 488 or so. Also, the mints of Sirmium in
> Pannonia is omitted on the map. But it was a very minor mint and
> operative only from about 504 after closing at the end of the 4th
> century. Also, missing are most of the western mints of greater
> significance, like Arles and Lyon, but especially Milan. Trier,
which
> was a major mint in the 4th century seized operations in the early
> 5th century. Also missing are all the Frankish and Visigothic mints
> like Toulouse, Bordeaux, Cologne, Marseille etc.
>
> I think it it fair to say that the vast majority of gold coins
minted
> in the 5th century would have been produced by Constantinopel,
> Ravenna, Rome and Milan. Of these Milan and Ravenna would have been
> the northern-most.
>
> cheers,
> Dirk


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