2021-02-18 Thu

Frederick II was King of Sicily, duke of Swabia, German King, and Holy Roman Emperor. As the Crusades progressed, he acquired control of Jerusalem and styled himself its king.

He was born on 26th December 1194 in Lesi, Italy to Henry VI and Constance. His political and cultural ambitions were enormous as he ruled a vast area, beginning with Sicily and stretching through Italy all the way north to Germany. He also joined in the Sixth Crusade (1228–29), conquering several areas of the Holy Land and crowning himself king of Jerusalem.

An augustalis or augustale was a gold coin minted in the Kingdom of Sicily beginning in 1231. It was issued by Frederick II and was minted until his death on 13th December 1250. In addition, half augustalis was issued. It was identical in design, but smaller and half the weight. The augustalis bore a Latin inscription and was widely circulated in Italy. It was patterned after the Roman aureus. It was struck at Brindisi and Messina with accompanying billon deniers.

The obverse contains a classical (not medieval) profile bust of the emperor wearing a laureate wreath with the legend CESAR AVG IMP ROM (Caesar Augustus, Emperor of the Romans); the reverse shows an eagle, the imperial symbol, with the name FRIDE RICVS (Frederick).

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