The Messina hoard, comprised of c.100 solidi of Theophilos, all from the mint of Syracuse. It was found ‘off the coast of Messina’. It is likely that this hoard was being transported from Sicily, as all coins are

from the mint of Syracuse, it could be that they were taxes collected on the island being transported to Constantinople, or perhaps a merchant’s payment. Coins of Syracuse in this period are interesting because from the second decade of the ninth century, Syracusan coins begin appearing in distant geographic locations, such as Cherson in the Crimea and all over the Balkans. It is also accompanied by an increase in coin production from Syracuse.

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