The Frano Radić Numismatic Collection

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Frano Radić was born in 1857 in the Brač island town of Bol. He pursued many vocations in the course of his life, and is remembered as a polymath, pedagogue, archaeologist, translator, and educator. His love of antiquities became evident during his studies in Split, and as a youth he was already a passionate collector. During his time in Korčula, Radić became increasingly active in archaeology. His work focused on monuments dating from prehistory to the late medieval period. In Pula he is remembered in particular as a great numismatist; his collection of coins is now in the care of the Archaeological Museum of Istria. On the 70th anniversary of the donation of the Frano Radić Collection, AMI is showcasing a number of its finest specimens.

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During his life Radić’s collection of coins numbered some 2,000 pieces. It was an impressive collection of Greek, Roman, Byzantine, medieval period, Venetian, Dubrovnian, and Austrian coins. Radić, unfortunately, did not keep records of their provenience. Much of the collection is certainly from the island of Korčula, where Radić worked for many years as a shipbuilding and stonemasonry instructor, while the remainder likely found its way into the collection by way of acquisitions and donations. Given that the collection was created in Dalmatia, these coins are specific to this region.

The story of the numismatic collection after the death, in 1933, of Frano Radić is revealed in the donation documents kept at the Archaeological Museum of Istria. The collection was initially inherited by Radić’s two daughters, residents of Pula. In 1953 they decided to transfer the collection to the Archaeological Museum of Istria. While the initial document speaks of the acquisition of 263 coins for the sum of 80,000 dinars, the document that follows indicates that the collection was donated. Ultimately, the sisters enriched the museum with their donation of 280 coins, two carnelian gemstones, and a number of books and journals concerning numismatics. Boris Baćić—then director of the museum, and the signatory of the document—expressed his gratitude for the donation made by the sisters.

Presently the museum’s inventory lists 215 surviving numismatic finds from the Radić Collection. Twelve are from the Greco-Hellenistic period, notable among which are Dyrrachian coins. Although letters of Kosta Hörmann confirm that a part of the collection associated with the Greek colony at Durrës (Dyrrachium) was to have been acquired by the state museum in Sarajevo, ten of these coins wound up with the Archaeological Museum of Istria. Also surviving are 20 Byzantine coins, eight medieval period coins, and 18 Dubrovnian coins. The bulk of the collection is made up of Roman (76) and Venetian (78) coins.

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The classification of Greek coins is based on a geographical division, i.e., it is defined by the region and city in which the money was minted. Consequently, we differentiate among a great number of coins of this period from across Europe, Africa, and Asia. And while most of the Greco-Hellenistic part of the collection is made up of the mentioned Dyrrachian coins, the finest surviving coin from this category is a coin minted under the king Prusias II of Bithynia (cat. no. 1). It dates to the first half of the 2nd c. BCE, with the reverse featuring a depiction of the centaur Chiron playing a lyre. In the mythology Chiron is the wisest and most just of the centaurs, and was the teacher of many Greek heroes, including Achilles and Jason.

The Roman coins are very diverse. As a great power with a history running in excess of one millennium, it quite naturally saw various reforms, some of which impacted the monetary system. Consequently, in the Radić Collection we see coins struck under both the republic and the empire. Gold, bronze/brass, and silver coins were struck in Rome. The primary silver currency was the denarius, gradually replaced from the year 215 by the antoninianus. Noteworthy among the bronze coins are the sestertius, the dupondius, and the as, and from the late imperial period the small centenionalis coin. All these, along with many other denominations not covered here, are found in the Radić collection.Notable from the period of the Roman republic is a silver denarius minted under Marcus Antonius (cat. no. 2). This is a legionary denarius used to finance the troops fighting Octavian on the side of Marcus Antonius during the civil war. This denarius was struck in 32–31 BCE, just prior to the battle fought at Actium. Marcus Antonius, then ruler in the east, was unable to mint money in Rome, which was under Octavian’s control, and he thus minted money using “travelling” mints. They supplied and ensured the loyalty of various legions, in this case that of the fifth legion (Legio V).

Octavian’s rise to the title of Augustus in 27 BCE made him the first Roman emperor and marked the dawn of a new era in Rome. The tradition has the empire enduring through to the year 476, with each Roman emperor minting his own coins. Two coins stand out among the Roman imperial coinage in the Radić Collection. The first is a sestertius of the emperor Maximinus I (cat. no. 3). Maximinus had been the commander of the 4th legion (Legio IV Italica) and was proclaimed emperor by the army in 235. He ruled through to 238, the “year of six emperors”, when new pretenders to the throne emerged. Maximinus set out for Rome, a city he had never and would never set foot in, with the aim of putting down the rebellious usurpers. He was killed near Aquileia, betrayed by his own troops. On the reverse of the sestertius, we see the female deity Fides with two military standards and the legend FIDES MILITVM, which translates as “the loyalty of the soldiers”. This underscores the pivotal role of the military in this turbulent period of Roman history. Although it was the Senate that formally proclaimed an emperor, the army could bring someone to power, or depose him, as was the case with Maximinus I.

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The other imperial coin is a centenionalis, a small bronze coin, minted under Constantinus II, the firstborn son of Constantinus I (cat. no. 4). The coin is dated to the years 321 to 324. On the reverse we can clearly see the message VOT X (Votis Decennalibus), a vow or prayer for ten years of successful rule. This coin is of particular interest as the exergue, a small space at the bottom of the reverse side, contains the mintmark of Siscia. This was the only late antique period mint active in what is now Croatia, located in the area of modern Sisak. This mint was active from the year 262 to the early 5th century and produced a great quantity of gold, silver, and bronze coins. It saw its zenith under Constantinus I. At the time there were as many as five workshops (officina) active within this mint. The workshop mark was usually set alongside the mintmark in the exergue. On this specimen we see the Greek letter Δ (delta), based on which we can attribute the striking of this centenionalis coin to the fourth officina.

The Frano Radić Collection features a wealth of Venetian coins. A number of denominations of silver and bronze money have survived, including the soldo, bagattino, gazzetta and grosso. Featured here on account of its fine workmanship and level of preservation is a grosso (matapan) coin struck at some point between 1205 and 1229, during the reign of the 42nd Venetian doge Pietro Ziani (cat. no. 5). The grosso was a silver coin with a high 98.5% silver content. It was first minted in 1193 under the doge Enrico Dandolo. The obverse always depicted the doge and St Mark with a banner [gonfalon] and beneath it the inscription DVX, while the reverse depicts Christ as Pantocrator with the initials IC-XC in the field.

The Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik) minted silver and copper coins. The absence of gold coins saw the introduction of foreign gold money as a measure of value in this republic. The early period saw the circulation of Byzantine gold coins, replaced after the fall of the Byzantine empire by the Venetian ducat. Besides gold coins, there was foreign bronze and silver coinage circulating in the republic, which was gradually pushed out as Dubrovnik’s mint grew in influence. Dubrovnian coins are a very rare find in Istria when it comes to systematic archaeological investigations. Happily, this donation has enriched the Numismatic Collection of the Archaeological Museum of Istria with several specimens of Ragusan coinage. Notable in the Radić Collection are a number of minca, solad [soldo], dinarić [grossetto] and poludinarić [half grossetto] coins. Featured here is a well preserved solad (cat. no. 6) with the characteristic devices of Dubrovnian coinage. On the obverse we see the bust of St Blasius and a depiction of the walls of Dubrovnik, to this day the city’s most remarkable feature. Around is the legend CIVITAS RAGVS. In the exergue we see the date on which the coin was struck, in this case 1793. On the reverse we see the image of Christ giving his benediction, flanked by two coats of arms of Dubrovnik and sets of four stars in the left and right fields.

The Radić Collection coins described here present a chronology of the dominant great powers holding sway in what is now southern Croatia, and highlight the immense passion of the man who collected them. Although we have here featured only a few specimens, representative of the individual categories, this collection includes a wealth of significant coins. Thanks to the daughters Maria and Anđelija, who recognised the value of this collection and selflessly donated it to the Archaeological Museum of Istria, today—seventy years later—we continue to admire, write about, and exhibit coins of the Frano Radić Numismatic Collection.

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                                            CATALOGUE

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 Bibliography

BRITISH ACADEMY, 1931. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, (http://www.sylloge-nummorum-graecorum.org/), 16. 1. 2023.
BRUUN, M. P., 1966. The Roman Imperial Coinage vol. VII. Constantine and Licinius, London, 1966.
CRAWFORD, M., 1974. Roman Republic Coinage, Cambridge
Dokumentacijski odjel Arheološkog muzeja Istre u Puli: Dokument: Numizmatička zbirka, od 3. 6. 1953.; Dokument pod brojem 396/25. 6. 1953.
GJURAŠIN H., 2008. Frano Radić – u povodu 150. obljetnice rođenja, Starohrvatska prosvjeta, III. serija, svezak 35/2008
MATTINGLY, H., SYDENHAM, E., SUTHERLAND, C. H. V., 1938. The Roman Imperial Coinage vol. IV. Part II. Marcinus to Pupienus, London
MIMICA, B., 1994. Numizmatička povijest Dubrovnika, Rijeka
MIMICA, B., 1997. Numizmatička povijest Istre i Kvarnera, Rijeka
OREB, F., 2019. Frano Radić – životopis. KARMELIĆ, J., NEJAŠMIĆ, J. (ed.) Frano Radić, Život i djelo, 207 – 273. Naklada Bošković, Split
PAPADOPOLI, N., 1893. – 1919. Le monete di Venezia, Venezia, Milano
PETEŠIĆ, S., 2019. Numizmatička zbirka i ostavština Frane Radića. KARMELIĆ, J., NEJAŠMIĆ, J. (ed.) Frano Radić, Život i djelo, 295 – 303. Naklada Bošković, Split
REŠETAR, M., 1905. Le monete della Repubblica di Ragusa, Milano
WADDINGTON, W., BABELON, E., REINACH, T., 2012. Recueil Général des Monnaies Grecques d’ Asie Mineure, Part 4: Bithynie: Prusa, Prusias, Tius, Paris

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The Frano Radić Numismatic Collection

 Exhibition
Carrarina 4, Pula
Window to the Past
6. 6. – 26. 9. 2023.

Exhibition and text author: Erika Trbojević
Organizer and publisher: Archaeological Museum of Istria
For the organizer and publisher: Darko Komšo
Editorial Board: Darko Komšo, Adriana Gri Štorga, Katarina Zenzerović
 Set up & graphic design: Vjeran Juhas
Photographer: Erika Trbojević
Exhibition coordinator: Monika Petrović
Translation in Italian: Elis Barbalich-Geromella
English translation: Neven Ferenčić
Croatian language editor: Milena Špigić
Proofs: Irena Buršić, Adriana Gri Štorga, Milena Špigić
Print: MPS Pula
Print run: 700
Pula, 2023.