CNG 84, Lot: 1748. Estimate $1000. Sold for $1900. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ITALY, Salerno. Ruggero Borsa. Duke of Apulia, 1085-1111. Æ Follaro (20mm, 1.98 g, 12h). Facing draped bust, holding scepter; eight-rayed star [to left] and right / ROCE/RIVS/D[VX] in three lines. CNI XVIII 3; Travaini, Monetazione type 87; MEC 14, 110-1. Near VF, brown patina, a little rough.

The Duke of Apulia and de facto ruler of the Mezzogiorno from 1085 until his death, Ruggero Borsa succeeded his father, Roberto I Guiscardo, in 1085. In Greece at the time and fearful of the presence of his brother, Boemond I d’Antiochia in Salerno, Ruggero hurried back to to Italy and in September was recognized as legitimate successor by Ruggero Bosso (Ruggero I). Meanwhile, Boemondo fled to Capua in the hopes of gaining support from its duke, Giordano I. Warfare subsequently ensued, and it was only through the personal intervention of Pope Urban II that peace was achieved. In return for acquiring certain territories, Boemondo relinquished his claims and, in 1089, Ruggero was officially invested as Duke of Apulia. For the remainder of his reign, Ruggero attempted to expand his territorial control. In 1098, he successfully besieged Capua on behalf of his cousin, Ricardo II, who had been ousted years earlier as a minor. In 1104, he removed Guglielmo from his throne as Count of Monte Sant’Angelo and disbanded the surroungding county of Gargano. For all his successes, however, he failed to follow them up with effective administration and remained a weak ruler. When he died in 1111, he was succeded by Guglielmo, his son by Adela di Fiandra.