Münzfingerring - Herrschaftsabzeichen

Archäologische Staatssammlung München

Description

As a rare grave furnishing, a finger ring with a gold coin was found during excavations in 1982 in the Bavarian aristocratic tomb at Hausen, which had already been raided during antiquity. A Byzantine solidus of Emperor Heraclius and his son Constantinus (AD610-641) served as the bezel for the finger ring – between AD616 and 625 this gold coinage was issued by the mint of Constantinopolis. The obverse shows the frontal busts of the two rulers. The custom of wearing gold coins as fingerrings was limited to a short period in the seventh century, when the coinage of the Byzantine emperors Phocas (602-610), Heraclius (610-641) and of their successor Constans II (642-668) were predominantly used. Finger rings with coins are often found in men's graves, but they are also known from women's burials. The import and use of Byzantine gold coins to Bavaria may be the result of Avaric-Bavarian contacts after AD630, when the Avars extorted huge quantities of solidi as a tribute from Byzantium and consequently such pieces came to the West on several routes to be melted down or transformed into pieces of jewellery and of rulers' insignia. Presumably, the finger rings made of coins imitated signet or monogram rings, which were used for sealing purposes because of the ruler’s portrait, which gave them the character of regalia. The Lex Baiuvariorum (II 13) refers to these rings or seals as a sign of ducal power.

Author

Archäologische Staatssammlung München

Rights Statement Description

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0