This coin is a gold tarì minted during the reign of Frederick II, King of Sicily.
The obverse of the coin features multiple concentric circles with inscriptions in Kufic script around the perimeter, encircling six small orbs at the centre. The reverse depicts a cross, accompanied by the inscription “IC-XC NI-KA”, where IC-XC is an abbreviation for Jesus Christ in Greek, and NI-KA translates to “victory” or “conquest”.
Kufic script: Kufic script is the earliest Islamic style of calligraphy, originally used by early Muslims to transcribe the Quran. Named after the ancient Iraqi city of Kufa, this font spread across the Arabian Peninsula as Islam expanded.
Tarì: The tarì was a small medieval coin minted approximately between the 10th and 13th centuries in Italy, Sicily, and Malta. It served as a significant denomination and unit of account in the medieval Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, cast in both gold and silver.
Frederick II (AD 1194-AD 1250), King of Sicily, also held titles such as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, and King of Italy. He ascended to the Sicilian throne in AD 1197 at the age of three. In AD 1212, he became King of the Romans, and was crowned Emperor in AD 1220. In addition to minting tarì, Frederick II emulated the Roman practice by introducing a new, more refined gold coin, the augustalis, which he vigorously promoted. The production of this coin continued until the 1260s, well after his death, and circulated widely across Italy and Sicily.
