W. C a r e w H a z l i t t Coinage of the European Continent

4i 8
The Coins of Europe
XII.
ITALY
The numismatic antiquities of the Peninsula and Sicily
in all their breadth and length have within a measurable
distance of time attracted the attention and study of
numerous able and enthusiastic inquirers who, in addition to
general views of the subject, have made special researches
into the coinages of particular provinces and towns. This
condition of affairs is
apt to operate in two directions ; for,
on the one hand, it adds immensely to our knowledge of
the monetary products of the whole region, while, on the
other, it enhances the difficulty of supplying such a sketch
or outline of this branch of the matter as may prove satisfactory
and useful to collectors.
We have in the present case io deal with the Italian
coinages, introduced by the Ostrogoths at the end of the
fifth century, by the Lombards in the eighth, by the Franks
and Germans in the north, and the Normans and Arabs in
the south, between the eighth and twelfth, by the republics,
by Savoy and other States, by the Popes, by the towns, and
by the two successive kingdoms of Italy. These are the
grand landmarks and divisions, of which the separate treatment
has to be regulated by circumstances. The student
who seeks to acquire a minute conversance with any given
section can be at no loss for guides ;
but it is our mission
to take a survey of the entire field on the principle which
we have followed throughout, and note all points which
appear to be important and of interest. The strength of
the Italian series principally resides in the urban currencies
and the fine cinquecento work, which begins about 1450 to
impart a new character to the money of -Florence, Milan,
Ferrara, Bologna, and Rome.
The Ostrogoths, whose rule over the northern part
extended from the end of the fifth to the second half of the
sixth century, long contented themselves with adding to
Byzantine types, with the names of the emperors of the East,
their own monograms on the reverse side ; they soon learned
the