Tremissis of Theophilos - 7

In the pictureSix small gold coins lie in two rows on gray-blue cloth, and at the top edge the rim of another object just intrudes. There are three coins above and three below, and the one at the lower left is half cut off by the edge of the picture. On each coin an emperor wearing a crown topped with a cross faces forward, with a lozenge-lattice garment on his chest and a cross-topped staff at the left, and Theophilos's name runs around the edge in Greek letters. The design is the same, but each differs slightly in where it was struck and how worn it is, and the collection record gives no dimensions.

BackgroundThe tremissis is a gold coin weighing one-third of a solidus. The accession numbers 2021.37.23.1–.7 show that seven tremisses of the same emperor are recorded as a single group, and six of them appear in the photograph. Theophilos (reigned 829–843) was the last emperor to ban the veneration of icons, and in an age when religious images were forbidden, coins were among the few official images the empire put forward. Tremisses of this period are said to have been struck mainly at the Sicilian mint.

Puzzle tipEach of the six round coins is its own reference point. Start with the brightest coin, at the right of the top row, and for each coin pick out the face pieces first to fix its place, then attach the Greek lettering pieces around the rim according to their tilt. The cut-off coin at the lower left touches the edge of the picture, so finding it together with the border pieces is quick. The gray-blue cloth between the coins has an even texture, so fill it last. 48 pieces is a good fit.