voulgaroktonou

Here’s an unusual asper of Alexios II (1297 -1330). 2.00 gr. 22.3 mm. 6 hr. Obverse, St. Eugenios on horseback right and holding cross in his right hand. Rev: Alexios on horseback right and holding sceptre of 3 pellets in his right hand; manus Dei to upper right . Not in Sear or Retowski. Bendall 51. Bendall, in his An Introduction to the coinage of Trebizond, p. 52 considers this variety with the emperor being crowned by the manus Dei as the first issue of the reign. And two less-than beautiful aspers of Alexius IV (1417-1446). Top coin. 0.90 gr. 15.5 mm 7 hr Obv: St. Eugenios on horseback right and holding cross in his right hand. Beneath horse’s head, B; beneath horse, star. Rev: Alexios on horseback right, holding trilobate sceptre in his right hand. [Beneath horse’s head, B]; beneath horse, star. S2641; Bendall 79; Retowski 14-15. Bottom coin. 0.88 gr. 15.4 mm 6 hr Obv: St. Eugenios on horseback right and holding cross in his right hand. Beneath horse’s head, B; beneath horse, star. Rev: Alexios on horseback right, holding trilobate sceptre in his right hand. Beneath horse’s head, B; beneath horse, star. S2641; Bendall 79; Retowski 14-15.

In addition to S882, consisting of a counterstamp with Heraclius’ sole portrait, there are two later counterstamped issues for Sicily featuring busts of Heraclius and his son Heraclius Constantine, first as a child, and then as an adult with slight beard and mustache. From clockwise: Sicily, 614-21. 14.26 gr. 33 mm. 6 hr. Sear 882; DO 241 a-e; H. KM 4. Counterstamp: bust of Heraclius with short beard and Heraclian monogram. Overstruck on Justinian. SCLs counterstamp on reverse of host coin. Sicily, 629-31. 9.04 gr. 36 mm. 6 hr. Sear 883; DO 242, a, b; H. KM 5. Counterstamp: bust of Heraclius with short beard and youthful portrait of Heraclius Constantine. No Heraclian monogram. SCLs counterstamp on obverse of host coin, a follis of Heraclius and Heraclius Constantine from Constantinople, year 21, officina A. Sicily, ca. 635-41. 5.55 gr. 25.9 mm. 5 hr. Sear 884; DO 243; H. KM 6. Counterstamp: bust of Heraclius with long beard and adult portrait of Heraclius Constantine, with light beard and mustache. SCLs counterstamp on reverse of host coin, a follis of Heraclius and Heraclius Constantine from Constantinople. Accompanying the Sicilian counterstamp is the Heraclian monogram.

In advance, apologies for a poor photo and even poorer attempt to reconstruct the undertype! Here’s a half follis of Leontius from Constantinople, year 1 = 695-6. 3.39 gr. 22.2 mm. 1 hr. Sear 1335; Hahn 33. Overstruck on a radiate fraction of Maximianus, 286 to 305. Of the host coin details remain of the obverse legend ….MAXIMIANVS PF AVG, plus the back of Maximianus’ portrait with radiate crown and wreath ties. On the reverse is visible above, the upper third of a large laurel wreath of the original coin, with a small ring at its apex. Byzantine copper coins overstruck on earlier Byzantine coins are common, but less so to find one struck on a 400 year old coin. Three such overstruck bronzes of Leontius were published for the first time in “Spink’s Numismatic Circular”, Jan. 1971, p.7; the undertypes of those coins were all Tetrarchic radiate fractions with VOTA wreath on the reverse as on this coin, one of Maximianus and two of Constantius I as Caesar. The author conjectured that a hoard of radiate fractions may have been discovered early in Leontius’ reign and “used as ready made flans for this issue.” The overstruck coins may have been from the mint at Carthage, with VOT XX FK or VOT X FK in the wreath on the reverse, to judge from the small size of the leaves that make up the wreath, comparable to RIC VI, plate 8, 38.

Here are a small and a large Tiberius II: Carthage, 578-82. Half siliqua. 1.06 gr. 16.4 mm. 6 hr. The reverse features a cross within a wreath bisecting the inscription LVX M/VNDI. Sear 464; Hahn 20; BNP 1-2; BMC 147-147. Constantinople, 579. Follis. 16.97 gr. 37.8 mm. 6 hr. Sear 430; Hahn 25; DO 11a; R. 926. Interestingly, Tiberius II is one of the few emperors whose coinage is mentioned by contemporary Byzantine authors. John of Ephesus writes in his Church History that the decision to replace the Victoria that had appeared on the reverse of the joint reign solidi of Justin II and Tiberius with the cross on steps was prompted by the emperor’s being ordered to do so in a dream.

Dear @JeandAcre, Thank you for your kind comment.

@Sand, your two coins would grace ANY collection of Palaeologan silver! And your John VIII even has 2 (mostly) visible lines of inscription! One of the reasons I enjoy so many duplicates of the stavrata is that one must examine a fist full of them in order to construct one full legend! 🙂 On the other hand, when it comes to the earlier miliaresia, I am happy to have one nice one each for the various Sear examples, but I never mind adding duplicate stavrata to my modest collection.

Καλά Χριστούγεννα! Blessings and good will of the Season to you all! I’ve recently seen some wonderful ancient coin trees. Here’s my little Byzantine coin tree. The mint of all is Constantinople, except for the top one, a Carthage fraction of Maurice Tiberius, Sear 551. Row 2: Constantine XI, Bendall 129, Bendall 110. One eighth stavrata. Row 3: first two: John VII as regent, Sear 2562; last coin, Manuel II, Sear 2552. Half stavrata. Row 4: John V, Sear 2510. Stavrata. Row 5: Manuel II. First coin, Sear 2548; remaining coins, Sear 2549. Stavrata. Last 2 coins: John VIII, Sear 2564. Stavrata.

Perhaps I can do it over the holidays!

I've 30-40 weights, but need to photograph them! Your is a nice one.

@sand, a beautiful example! These year 5 issues are, in my opinion, one of the handsomest folles of the 5th-6th c., in their own way, equal to the earlier dated folles of Justinian I. Here's one of mine. Sear 430; Hahn 25; DO 11a. 16.97 gr. 37.8 mm. 6 hr.

@catadc, Yours are very nice examples. I agree that Antioch is the rare one in this series. I have seen only 3-4 over many years of looking.

A few 3/4 folles: Constantinople, 578-82. 12.18 gr. 33 mm. 6h Obv: δm TIЬ CONS - TANT P P AVC, crowned and cuirassed bust facing, wearing cross and chlamys. Rev: XXX; cross above; in exergue, CONΓ. Sear 432; DO 15d; H. 27; BM 40; R. 940 Nicomedia, 578-82. 12.84 gr. 36 mm.; 6h Obv: δm TIЬ CONS – TAN[T PP] AVC, crowned and cuirassed bust facing, wearing cross and chlamys. Rev: XXX; cross above; in exergue, NIKOB Sear 442; H. 36; BM 72 Cyzicus, 579-82. 12.45 gr. 33 mm. 6h Obv: δm TIЬ CONS – TANT PP AVC, crowned and cuirassed bust facing, wearing cross and chlamys. Rev: XXX; cross above; in exergue, KYZA Sear 445; DO 37a; H.42 ; BM 79 Antioch, 579-82. 9.20 gr. 28 mm. 6h Obv: δm TЬЬ CO - NSTANT PP, crowned and cuirassed bust facing, wearing cross and chlamys. Rev: XXX; cross above; in exergue, tHEЧP Sear 449; H. 48; BM 107. Same obverse die as BM 107. ...and a diminutive silver fraction from Carthage. Half siliqua, Carthage, 578-82. 1.06 gr. 16.4 mm. 6 hr. Obv: [δm TIb CON]STANT PP Helmeted, diademed and cuirassed bust facing. Rev: LV X M/VNDI Latin cross, above which, 2 pellets, all within a wreath. Sear 464; Hahn 20; BNP 1-2; BM 146-147

Ceremonial silver miliaresion. Constantinople, 602/7. 1.21 gr. 18.9 mm. 7 hr. Sear 638A; Hahn 54. The portraits on Phokas’ fractional gold and occasional silver coins are generally beardless, unlike the bearded ones on his other issues. Half follis, Kyzikos, 603/4. 6.50 gr. 25.9 mm. 6 hr. Sear 670 var.; Hahn 79 var.; DO 79a var.; BM 98 var.; R. 1239 var. This variety, with the regnal year to the left of the mark of value, is not noted. The raised position of the officina letters (in this case A) on the halves from this mint shows that they were later added to the die. @Valentinian has earlier noted the eccentricity of the Kyzikene portraits for Maurice. We see the “tradition” alive and well on occasional half folles of his successor from this mint. Or as my wife, classically trained in Greek pottery, is wont to assert, “proof that space aliens interbred with inhabitants of the eastern Mediterranean in late antiquity.” And who am I to disabuse her? Follis, Antioch, 608/9. 10.56 gr. 30.2 mm. 5 hr. Sear 672A; Hahn 84 b. Portrait of fine style. This is the second example of this portrait I have encountered. I published a better example of it in a private collection (now in DO) in The Celator, Aug. 2000, pp. 16-20: “From the hand of a master – an Antiochene follis of Phocas”.

Consider it a way to keep my aging brain active! 😁

Gosh, you must have a lot bigger tank that I do! But I love your Constantine V follis - wonderful coloring and surfaces!

Dear coin friends, At the risk of betraying my Byzantine fixation, as my many friends/admirers of earlier Greek and Roman coins would say I have to a serious degree, I would like to share a mental exercise I perform whenever I add gasoline to my car. When the last drop has been squeezed into the gas tank, I take the total charge in US dollars, and treat it as a Sear number. Then, I try to visualize what that particular Byzantine coin is. I’m fairly good at this, and yesterday proved the point. On the way home from visiting our horse, I stopped at the gas station and filled my tank by spending $16.80, thinking of Sear 1680, and considering it to be a Theophilos follis from Syracuse. A few minutes later, at home, I saw I was right on the money, so to speak. Here's one of my examples of Sear 1680. Follis, Syracuse, 830/1 – 842. 1.69 gr. 17 mm. 4 hr. Sear 1680; DO 29c; BNP 1-4; Ricotti 239. Grierson (DOC 3:1, p. 447) considers this issue as a half follis, or as “a much reduced follis.” Obv: Θε O FI[LOS bA] Bust of Theophilos wearing crown with cross and loros; holdings cross potent on base in right hand. Rev: + mI[XA – HL S COnSt] Busts of Michael and Constantine, each wearing crown with cross and chlamys. Star above their heads.

You are overkind, but thank you. Mine is a modest collection, I assure you, but I have been working at it for 60 years.

Although I have shared these two coins before, while on the topic of Anastasius, I thought I'd bring them out again, in case others have not seen the type. When the weights of the follis and its fractions were doubled in 512, the mint evidently considered that the increased size of the flans would allow for a figural reverse type, a seated representation of Constantinople holding a globus cruciger. Examples exist for the follis (I know of three examples, Berlin, BM, and Triton XIX, lot 688), its half (three examples: mine, and two others in DO., and quarter (three examples: Barber Institute, mine, and the third, Leu Web Auction 11, lot 2129). But it evidently did not give satisfaction, and specimens are extremely rare today. Anastasius I. Constantinople. 512-17. Half follis. 9.62 gr. 24.5 mm. hr. 8. Sear 25A; Hahn 20a (this coin). Ex Vecchi 8, Dec. 4, 1997, lot 401. Published in The Celator, April 1999, “A Pair of holed rarities”. This example is holed, as are two of the three known half folles as well as one of the three known decanummia. Anastasius I. Constantinople. 512-17. Decanummium. 4.30 gr. 20 mm. hr. 6. Sear 28A; Hahn 21. Ex Triton XV, lot 1573. An example of the follis came up in Triton XIX, lot 688. However, when I saw where the bidding was going, I decided that Meat Loaf's song “Two out of three ain't bad” made a lot of sense. Another song lyric, in this case from John Entwhistle’s “My Wife”, also suggested the importance of restraint: “My life’s in jeopardy, shot down in cold blood I’m gonna be” (or would have been if I had purchased it.)

@Sand posted several days back a wonderful and concise summary of the Anastasian currency reform. Here are a few additional notes and photos to illustrate the various denominations of the initial and final reform. I always love to read about Anastasius and his coins. Imagine the effect his reformed coinage would have had upon a populace used to those tiny nummi that must have had to circulate in bags! The Anastasian currency reform developed in two stages. The first, in 498, consisted in the issuance of multiples of the nummus, denominations of 40, 20, and 10 nummi. Then in 512, the weights were doubled, and at the same time, a further multiple, the pentanummium of 5 nummi was introduced. The striking of the tiny nummi continued. In addition to their much heavier weight and size, the distinguishing feature of the reform coins is the reverse type, consisting of a Greek letter corresponding to the appropriate denomination. M = 40; K = 20; I = 10; ε = 5. Below are some examples of the various denominations. The first row reflects the initial, lighter reform of 498-512, and the second row, the corresponding denominations of the second reform of 512-518. The obverse images are on the left, while the reverses are on the right. All are from the mint of Constantinople, although the other mints followed the same development. The coins are, from left to right: First row. Initial, lighter reform of 498-512. Follis. 8.50 gr. 26 mm. Hr. 6. Sear 14; Hahn 22; DO 16; BNP 11-12. Half follis. 3.76 gr. 20 mm. Hr. 6. Sear 24; Hahn 32; DO 21b; BNP 37. Quarter follis (decanummium). 1.51 gr. 16 mm. Hr. 12. Sear 26; Hahn 34a; DO 19; BNP 44-50. Nummus. 0.79 gr. 7 mm. Hr. 12. Sear 13; Hahn 40; DO 15; BNP 1-10. Second row. Subsequent (heavier) reform of 512-518. Follis. 18.17 gr. 36 mm. Hr. 6. Sear 19; Hahn 27; DO 23d, e; BNP 69-75. Half follis. 9.07 gr. 31 mm. Hr. 6. Sear 25 (this coin); Hahn 33; DO 24d; BNP 14. Quarter follis (decanummium). 4.16 gr. 22 mm. Hr. 6. Sear 28; Hahn 36; DO -; BNP – Eighth follis (pentanummium). 1.90 gr. 16 mm. Hr. 7. Sear 29; Hahn 39; DO 26d; BNP 92.

A very nice example; thanks for sharing!

Your Syracusan Constans is very nice; these issues really show the emperor's extravagant beard. And your comment of "acquired taste" resonates. My local ancient coin club friends consider my taste in Byzantine strange. And my wife, who studied ancient Greek pottery in graduate school, considers my passion for the 15th stavrata perverse.

Thank you!