IN the collection of the Centre for Coins,Culture and Religious History there isa fascinating little coin. (Figure 1) Onone side it has a cross, the symbol ofChristianity, and on the other side it hasa star and crescent, the symbol of Islam.It was issued by Frederick II who wasthe king of Sicily (1197-1250), king ofGermany (1212-1250), Holy Roman Em-peror (1220-1250), and surprisingly theactual king of Jerusalem (1229-1243).The coin was minted either at Messina

or Brindisi for circulation in Sicily andsouthern Italy. (Figure 2 – map) Theobverse legend is IERL’ ET SICIL’ R(King of Jerusalem and Sicily) and thereverse legend is F ROM IP SEMP(Frederick Roman Emperor always). Tounderstand why this bi-faith coin wasminted one needs to know somethingabout Frederick II.He was born in 1194 and died in 1250.

His father, Henry VI, was the HolyRoman Emperor but he died when

Frederick was only two years old. Hismother, Constance, was the daughter ofthe king of Sicily and she took Frederickto Palermo where he was crowned kingof Sicily in 1197. A gold coin was mintedat Amalfi for the occasion. (Figure 3) Itwas scyphate (bowl-shaped) like thegold coins in the Byzantine Empire atthe time, and it was the first coin everto have an A.D. date, i.e. from the birthof Christ. Before she died in November1198 Constance asked Pope Innocent III

Detail from a picture of Frederick in a 13th century manuscript. (Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 1 – Billon denaro minted at Messina or Brindisi. Diameter 16 mms. Weight 0.63 gram. (Centre for Coins, Culture and Religious History)

(1198-1216) to be Frederick’s guardianand the regent of Sicily. Palermo was amulticultural city with a large Muslimpopulation and according to Will Durant,the author The Age of Faith, “He wasallowed to run free in the streets andmarkets of the polyglot capital, and topick his associates wherever he pleased.. . He grew familiar with different peoples,

garbs, customs, and faiths, and neverquite lost his youthful habit of tolerance.”When he was twelve he took over thegovernment of Sicily, and in 1212 PopeInnocent ordered the barons of theempire to elect him the Holy RomanEmperor on condition that he pledge togo on a Crusade to regain Jerusalem forChristendom.

Frederick’s domains included the south-ern part of Italy as well as Sicily, andearly in his reign the barons in south-ern Italy with the Muslims in Sicilystaged a revolt. Frederick crushed therevolt and resettled many of the Mus-lims in Apulia where some were trainedas soldiers and became his bodyguard.This development might explain the star

Figure 2 – Map of Frederick’s kingdom of Sicily and southern Italy showing places mentioned in the text.

Figure 3 – Gold coin (tari) issued by Constance and Frederick II. 24 mms. It shows the AD date1198 and the AH date 595. Obverse: palm tree bearing fruit. In the outer circle the Arabic wordsin the Kufic script mean ‘struck in the year five hundred ninety-five.’ In the inner circle is + FREREX SICILIE. Reverse: cross. In the outer circle the Arabic words mean ‘struck in the year one-hundred one-thousand ninety-eight.’ In the inner circle the Arabic words mean ‘Constance Em-press of the Romans.’ (Roma Numismatics Ltd, Auction 21, Lot 1127)

Figure 4 – Billon denaro minted at Messina orBrindisi. 17 mms, 0.75 gram. Obverse: head ofFrederick II with legend + F ROM IPR SEP AVG’(Frederick Roman Emperor always Augustus).Reverse: eagle with legend R IERSL’ ETSICIL’(King of Jerusalem and Sicily). (Centre forCoins, Culture and Religious History)

Figure 5 – Bulla of Pope Gregory IX. Obverse:heads of St Paul and St Peter, with SPA andSPE above. Reverse: GREGORIVS PP. VIIII.(Wikimedia Commons)

and crescent on the reverse of the coinin Figure 1 where the A could stand forApulia. Pope Honorius III (1216-1227) per-

suaded Frederick to marry Isabella, thedaughter of John of Brienne, who hadclaimed the title of king of the defunctkingdom of Jerusalem. As she had in-herited the title, Frederick claimed it

for himself. Subsequently it appears onmany of his coins as in Figure 1 andFigure 4.Honorius had hoped that Frederick’s

marriage to Isabella would encouragehim to embark on his Crusade, and in1227 Frederick assembled a great fleetat Brindisi. Unfortunately the city wasstruck by a plague and thousands of

Crusaders died. The new pope, GregoryIX (1227-1241) refused to accept Fred-erick’s excuses for the delay and excom-municated him. Gregory issued no coinsbut some of the lead seals (bullas) thatwere attached to his parchment docu-ments still exist. (Figure 5)In 1228, still excommunicated, Fred-

erick set sail for the Holy Land with some

Figure 6 – Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem. (WikimediaCommons. Photo by Berthold Werner)

Figure 7 – Augustale of Frederick II minted at Messina from 1231. 21 mms. Obverse: Frederick as a Roman emperor, with legend o IMP ROM.CESAR AVG (Emperor of Rome Caesar Augustus) Reverse: eagle with legend + FRIDER RICVS. (Roma Numismatics Ltd, Auction 20, Lot 979)

of his Muslim subjects to advise him.When he arrived in Palestine the Muslimruler, Sultan al-Kamil, was surprisedthat Frederick could speak Arabic andunderstood Islamic culture. They agreedon a treaty whereby Frederick wouldcontrol Jerusalem and some other cities

so that Christian pilgrims could visit theholy places. So, without a drop of bloodbeing spilt, Frederick made a triumphalentry into Jerusalem just as Jesus haddone twelve hundred years earlier. Be-cause no priest would have anything todo with him, he crowned himself in the

Church of the Holy Sepulchre. (Figure 6). Frederick soon returned to Italy, and

no coins were minted in his kingdom ofJerusalem where he left a representa-tive. Although his capital was Foggia inApulia his coins were minted at Brin-disi and Messina. In 1230 when Freder-ick threatened to invade the PapalStates Gregory withdrew the excommu-nication, but tensions between Freder-ick and the papacy continued. In 1231

Figure 8 – Augustale of Frederick II minted at Brindisi from 1231. 19 mms. Obverse and reverse similar to Figure 7 but with 2 pellets on reverse. (Bertolami Fine Arts, Auction 19, Lot 1034)

Figure 9 – Gold coin minted at Messina orBrindisi. 13 mms. Obverse: FE (Frederick) sur-rounded by legends in pseudo-Kufic script.Reverse: cross with inscription IC XC NIKAsurrounded by pseudo-Kufic legend. (RomaNumismatics Ltd, Electronic Sale 17, Lot 1292)

Figure 10 – Gold Coin minted at Messina orBrindisi. 10 mms. Obverse: eagle surroundedby pseudo-Kufic legend. Reverse: cross withinscription IC XC NIKA. (Classical NumismaticGroup, Electronic Auction 99, Lot 223)

Figure 11 – Bracteate issued by the city of Ulmin Germany. 20 mms. Winged bust of Freder-ick II with hand raised in benediction. (Classi-cal Numismatic Group, Electronic Auction 242,Lot 271)

Frederick issued a gold coin called anaugustale that has no Christian symbolson it. (Figure 7) It was issued concur-rently with the publication of a consti-tution based on the laws of ancientRome. On the obverse Frederick lookslike a Roman emperor, and on the re-verse there is a Roman eagle. The ob-verse legend IMP ROM CESAR AVGmeans ‘Roman Emperor Caesar Augus-tus’. On some of these coins there aretwo pellets at the top of the reverse.(Figure 8) They have been attributed tothe Brindisi mint, and the ones withoutthe pellets to the Messina mint. Although

many of his subjects in Europe saw himas a Christ-like figure after he had re-gained Jerusalem for Christendom heliked to compare himself with the Romanemperors of the past. However, he didissue a number of gold coins with Chris-tian symbols on them (Figures 9 and10) and if minted after his return fromthe Holy Land the letters IC XC NIKA(Jesus Christ conquers) so prominentlyshown on the reverses would have re-ferred to his peaceful acquisition of theholy places in Palestine. Frederick enjoyed the warm climate

at Foggia and spent only eight years of

his life in Germany where the baronsand bishops continued to rule as feudallords although acknowledging Freder-ick as their overlord. Some Germancities issued bracteates which were sil-ver coins so thin that when stamped bya die the design appeared on both sides.(Figure 11) They were apparently in-vented in Germany where they circu-lated from the 12th to the 14th century.Some cities in northern Italy issued coinsin Frederick’s name, but they were notbracteates. (Figures 12 and 13) Frederick’s association with Muslim

leaders and thinkers seems to haveweakened his Christian faith. Accord-ing to Will Durant, “He was unquestion-ably something of a freethinker. He hadhis doubts about the creation of theworld in time, personal immortality, thevirgin birth, and other doctrines of theChristian faith.” Pope Gregory accusedhim of being an atheist, and some of hisenemies said they heard him say thatMoses, Christ and Mohammed wereconjurors who craftily led away theircontemporaries to gain the mastery ofthe world. In 1238 Gregory persuadedVenice, Genoa and other cities to wagewar against Frederick, and in 1239 heagain excommunicated him. A horriblewar ensued with atrocities committed byboth sides. In 1241 Frederick intercepteda Genoese fleet taking cardinals and

Figure 12 – Silver grosso minted at Bergamo from 1236. 18 mms. The obverse is modelled on theaugustale. On the reverse there is a building with a cross at the top and a tower on each side. Belowthere is an archway on a rocky foundation. (Classical Numismatic Group, Auction 102, Lot 1316)

bishops to Rome for a council and keptthem in Apulia as hostages. This shockedthe general populace and caused themto turn against him. Many now believedthat he was the Antichrist. Gregory died in 1241 and despite Pope

Innocent IV (1243-1254) arranging apeace treaty the war continued even afterFrederick’s death in 1250. His sons suc-ceeded him, but within 22 years of hisdeath all of his heirs had been killed inthe struggle between the empire andthe papacy. Frederick was entombed inthe cathedral at Palermo where he hadbeen a fun-loving boy. (Figure 14) Fred-erick’s character is summed up in TheNew Encyclopaedia Britannica: “Fred-erick’s character was marked by sharpcontradictions, undoubtedly the resultof his insecure and emotionally barrenchildhood. Enchanting amiability andgaiety were paired with cruelty; harsh-ness and rigidity existed side by side withsuperior intelligence and a keen senseof reality; tolerance and intolerance wenthand in hand.”What is surprising is that when the

reverse of the coin in Figure 1 is lookedat with the tiny cross at the top there is aface. (Figure 15) It is like a sad-faceemoji! The position of the dots for eyeson either side of the A seems to be de-liberate. It might have been the work ofa cheeky die-engraver, but knowingFrederick’s personality it is more likelythat he was responsible. If so, what didhe mean by it? As the coin has been datedto 1242, which is late in his life, it mighthave reflected his atheistic attitude anddisdain for religion, or perhaps he wasjust being trying to be funny.The 13th century was an interesting

time in European history and the manycoins issued by Frederick II give us atangible connection to it. They revealmuch about Frederick, who was differentin many ways and played an importantrole at the end of the medieval period.It is not surprising that he becameknown as Stupor Mundi (The Wonder ofthe World).

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Figure 13 – Silver grosso minted at Como. 19 mms. On the obverse Frederick holds a sceptreand a flower. An eagle is on the reverse. (Classical Numismatic Group, Triton XXIII, Lot 1114)

Figure 14 – The tomb of Frederick II in Palermo Cathedral. (Wikimedia Commons. Photo by José Luiz)

Figure 15 – The reverse of Figure 1 whenlooked at with the tiny cross at the top.