The Transition to a Regal Coinage

The currency of Visigothic Spain, like other currencies, reflects the political circumstances of the period. We have seen in the first chapter that for much of the sixth century Visigothic coinage was modeled on imperial coinage in its type and inscription, although in some ways it significantly diverged from its model. Both solidi and tremisses were struck according to Byzantine practice. Centers of coin production were probably few, although their number was increasing. Numerous finds of foreign coins in Iberia and abundant evidence of the circulation of Visigothic gold pieces throughout France show the integration of the currency with that of other kingdoms in a large area of monetary exchange. All of these facts show that the pseudo-imperial coinage did not have a ‘national’ character, one that was markedly Visigothic in its design and its usage. The reason is that the Goths did not yet have true dominion in Iberia in the first three quarters of the century. Only parts of Spain were firmly in the Goths’ control and, with the exception of Theudis, the kings of this period had a tenuous hold on power. Theses decades saw rivalries among Visigothic noblemen, assassinations of kings, a Byzantine invasion in the middle of the century, and rebellions in northern and southern Iberia. Northwestern Spain was in the hands of the Sueves, rivals whom the Goths could not completely overcome and who were under the influence of Francia and possibly Byzantium.