Simon

I chose to post this tonight since the new Byzantine portrait thread will take a few months to get to the later Years. The city of Constantinople existed from its inauguration until its final fall a total of 1,123 years and 18 days. This thread pertains to its final years. Because the study of late Byzantine coinage is so new (Became a focus in the 1960s), a real hindrance in its study is keeping the denomination names straight. As studies progress so do the changes in denomination names. A great example of this is the Assarion. Assarion is an interesting denomination, thinner, lighter and bigger than its predecessor the tetarteron, the assarion was a return to Roman named coinage representing the smallest, it first appears in Andronicus II reign Introduced around 1294 and ceased to be minted in the 1350’s. About 30 different types of coins for its 60-year life. Andronicus II-Michael IX SBCV-2435 Assarion The first modern book usage of the Byzantine term Assarion seems to be done by Phillip Grierson in 1982, in his catalog “Byzantine coins”, however, he does not cite the contemporary document that used that name, but he does give an excellent explanation on where the name comes from. The New Testament. Biblical reference Matt 10:29 “Are not two Sparrows sold for an Assarion?” So before his catalog in 1982, the same coin ( Assarion) was called a tetarteron. In earlier catalogs, authors such as Simon Bendall and David Metcalf using the title tetarteron. In an interesting note Whiting held back, In his 1973 book he felt a study in the post 1204 coinage needed to focused on much as Michael Hendy had done in his work on the 12th century. Andronicus III SBCV-2494 Assarion In trying to understand the time period, we have to compile as much information as possible from the people who studied the coins before us. The flat copper coins of the late Byzantine Empire are a perfect example of how difficult this can be. In the earliest coin catalogs and articles, the coins are called just that, small flat copper coinage, that makes some sense especially since the rest of the copper coinage were concaved coins that had been introduced in mass in 1092. This changes with Michael Hendy work in 1969 DOC 12. In pre 1969 articles, the 12th century tetarteron was called a follis, literature written after that, tetarteron was found to be the contemporary name. This was from the writings of a crusader who was given some of these new coins. To add to the confusion this flat coins coin’s name existed in all metals, pre-Alexius coin reform of 1092 it was a gold coin, then a silver coin. After the coin reform it existed in three different metals, lead, billion and copper. This adds to the confusion when studying the denomination, however the problem continues when looking at the even later coinage, the Assarion. The difference is obvious when looking at a 12th century tetarteron but not as much when looking at a late tetarteron. Anonymous (Magn.) AE Tetarteron – SBCV-2154 DOC IV 6 Type D OBV Cross radiate, with lunate ornaments, decorated with pellets , at ends. REV Half length figure of Virgin, nimbate, orans wearing tunic. Size 20mm Weight 2.61gm DOC lists 4 examples. weight vary 1.32gm to 2.52gm and 19 to 22mm One thing Grierson mentions In his Byzantine coins book is that the issues of the assarion were almost too numerous to count (Not by image but by legends), regional dates began to reappear on this denomination. The coin was continued to be minted into the mid 14th century, then it was replaced by two other copper flat coins tornesi (Issued under same name as AE and Billion. But two different denominations) and follari, both of these coins are considerably different much smaller than the assarion, By the way, the names of these coins are Latin, we have no idea what they were known by their minters. The reason we know the Latin names is merchants had compiled surviving lists that contained the rate of exchange between denominations. Eastern Roman literature on the subject of the small denominations is sparce. These posting mentions some of the hurdles of studying the coinage of the late Eastern Roman Empire and for those of us that are trying to fill in the blanks of that period of numismatics. It is also a reason many collectors focus on this field, the need for new knowledge of this field is just beginning. I do not have nice examples of Tornese, Follaro and any of the other lower denominations that circulated in the empire at that time. I invite some of the more focused collectors of that time period to share their knowledge and their coins. It would be very helpful to new collectors and old, to gain more insight on the time period. @seth77 @Glebe @TheTrachyEnjoyer, and any others who I failed to mention.

This is my best portrait of Anastasius, small gold. I put together a small collection of his coinage pre reform and post, this one was him looking his best. Anastasius I AV Tremissis. Constantinople, AD 491-518. D N ANASTASIVS P P AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust to right / VICTORIA AVGVSTORVM, Victory advancing right, head to left, holding wreath and globus cruciger; star in right field, CONOB in exergue. MIBE 13; DOC 10; Sear 8. 1.49g, 15mm, 4h.Near Extremely Fine.From the collection of Z.P., Austria. One other, again a cool portrait. Silver quarter siliqua, Demo 77 var. (legend variations), VF+, centered, toned, edge bend, edge chips, Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia) mint, weight 0.820g, maximum diameter 16.2mm, die axis 180o, c. 491 - 504 A.D.; obverse D N ANASTASIVS P AV (N's inverted, A's appearing as Λ), diademed and cuirassed bust of Anastasius right; reverse * V INVICTA + A ROMANI (first N inverted, A's appearing as Λ), monogram of Theodoric, cross above, star below; ex Roma Numismatics;

Similar to @Roman Collector Not a great example but first time it has been photographed. 6.2gm and 25.68 mm Cool article, Thank you for posting.

So it starts tomorrow at 3pm?

@Tesauros you have just heard from some of the best people I know for post 1204 Byzantine coinage, @TheTrachyEnjoyer and @Glebe. I would not take their answers lightly, neither are being rude and neither likes disappointing a collector. Put the coin aside and as you continue to collect you will see their point of view. In the meantime, please post whatever you have questions on and of course new finds, we all like to learn. Simon

I use google translate all the time now. I was working with a piece of art from the 16th century and it had unusual text on the bottom of the image. We used our phones with live google translate and it translated the Latin text, It was a warning to others not to copy the artwork. That blew me away. Now I use it regularly on biographies not written in English and the occasional coin book.

Thank you @JeandAcre I did not know there is a later edition , I thought I was lucky to get it. I also have the price guide from 1994 as well. Did he reattribute it in the new catalog or is there a better source to work with coins from that time? Sorry for the basic questions but I am curious to learn more. Simon

Not my area but I recently got this coin. I believe it to be Hugh I Malloy 28. Am I right or am I missing something? Weight is only 2gm, so it is light. Size 20.52mm The REX in the castle is not clear. Advice and opinions are very much appreciated.

Additional note to this posting, there is a third possibility for a coin being minted in Cyprus or minted exclusively for the Cyprus market, not many of these around but my last acquisitions of these type (Not this coin.) came from Cyprus. However not enough examples are known to make this more than a hunch. None of the examples are found in Corinth or Athens excavations. It was included in DOC IV because of one being known in a private collection. JOHN II AE Tetarteron S-NL DOC 15 CLBC 3.4.4 OBV Bust of Christ, bearded and nimbate, wearing tunic and kolobion; holds gospels open in l. hand REV. Bust of emperor wearing stemma, divitision and jeweled loros of a traditional type; holds in r. labarum on a long shaft and in l. Globus cruciger. Size 16.85mm Weight 3.4gm The coin is erasable confusable with these two. And this one, same imagery as SBCV-1953 but the length of Christ is different. This was pointed out by Zervos so I call it the Zervos variation.

This poor fellow only ruled for two months. He was injured in Battle and not expected to live long. He did not. Stauracius never had a chance to issue coins on his own, here is a more common one of him and the previous Emperor Nicephorus. Nicephorus I, with Stauracius, 802-811. Follis (Bronze, 23 mm, 5.83 g, 5 h), Constantinopolis. Facing busts of Nicephorus I, with short beard, wearing chlamys, on the left and Stauracius, beardless, wearing chlamys on the right, both wearing crown surmounted by cross; between their heads, cross. Rev. Large M between X/X/X and N/N/N; above, cross; below, A. DOC 5. SB 1607. Very fine. Anybody else have a short turn ruler in there collection? Please share.

There is nothing wrong with your example, this coin is one of the most abundant to the tetartera family, Manuel had the longest rule so many of these coins were created. Some noted have been as heavy as 7gm. My heaviest is 6gm. This coin remains in my collection, was a gift from a dealer before anybody collected these. Its obverse is poorly struck but the reverse is beautiful. I fliped the photo. Rev to OBV. Other examples from my collection, this is the heavy one at 6gm. This one harshly cleaned but almost complete. So yours is a very nice example with complete face features. I would not be so quick to replace it.

Another to show, heavy bugger 12.87gm and 30mm

A Scarce Type of copper Tetarteron of the early 12th century from Cyprus , written by P.J. Donald, D.M. Metcalf and A. G. Pitsillides. In it he uses SBCV-1934 as a coinage perhaps minted exclusively for Cyprus, I also believe SBCV-1933 was a coin minted in Cyprus. That second coin was not mentioned in the article. And SBCV-1933, Interesting because the coin is listed as a whole and a half tetarteron depending on the catalog.

That is a fantastic example at @Valentinian, mine are much darker metal, I do have several, but the Sear numbers and DOC examples are limiting. I really feel the empire and the mints were in a free fall at that time period. @JeandAcre that coin is a rarer one, it too had silver content. I have one very porous example that had too much silver in it. Here is the coin that gave me the goal to finish the collection, only one other example is known and that is in the Thessalonica archeological museum. A third one was found at Corinth but it is unclear where it is. This coin is believed to be the 5th issue from Thessalonica, when Michael Hendy wrote DO 12 he included it because Sabatier had a found an example a century before. A example was found before publication of DOC IV in the museum. It is believed to be the 5th coinage of Thessalonica because of the monogram of Alexius name. It is believed to be a very short lived issue. ALEXIUS I AE Tetarteron S- Unlisted DOC 41 CLBC 2.4.11 OBV Monogram of Alexius. REV Bust of Emperor wearing stemma divitision and jeweled loros of traditional type holds in r. hand jeweled scepter and in l. gl. cr. Size 16/18mm Weight 2.3gm This is believed to be a Thessalonica minted coin, it contains no silver. This example has now been published in BULLETIN du cercle d'etudeas Numismatiques VOL 52 Jan 2015 by Cedric Wolkow, three examples are shown. This one appears to be in the best condition. DOC lists the above coin as the only example Weight 3.74gm and size at 17mm. Mine is considerably lighter. Here is other examples of monograms done by the Thessalonica mint. They were created under Alexius grandson Manuel I Comnenus. MANUEL AE HALF TETARTERON S-1979 DOC 22 CLBC 4.4.11OBV Large, often ill formed letters REV Bust of emperor, beardless, wearing stemma, divitision, collar piece ( Most frequently decorated with 6 jewels) and paneled loros of simplified type; holds in r. hand labarum on long shaft and in l. Globus cruciger. Size 17.33mm Weight 2.59 gm This coin is good Very fine, lightly circulated. I believe this to be a perfect example. DOC lists 27 examples with weights ranging from 1.10gm to 2.96 gm with sizes from 14mm to 18mm. MANUEL AE HALF TETARTERON S-1977 DOC 20 CLBC 4.4.7 OBV Small neat letters Monogram Sear 57 REV Bust of emperor, beardless, wearing stemma, divitision, collar piece ( Most frequently decorated 5 jewels) and paneled loros of simplified type; holds in r. hand labarum on long shaft and in l. Globus cruciger. Size 20.26mm Weight 2.7gm DOC lists 12 examples with weights ranging from 2.04gm to 2.77 gm with sizes from 18mm to 21mm. It is important to note the average sizes and weights listed above are from DOC IV, they are incorrect because they did include the imitations finds of these coins. I believe the imitations created the third unknown mint in Hendy's works, I do believe in a third mint but for a different reason and for specific issues only. That third mint is Cyprus. Certains coins of the rule of Alexius and John II seem to only come from Cyprus, I was swayed by reading the article written by D.M. Metcalf.

The links are still good for the DOC, I just downloaded Volume 5 for a post I was writing, I saved it as a pdf to my computer. I do need to give credit where credit was due. @quant.geek was the one that discovered they were free. https://www.doaks.org/research/publications/books/catalogue-of-the-byzantine-coins-in-the-dumbarton-oaks-collection-and-in-the-whittemore-collection-1https://www.doaks.org/research/publications/books/catalogue-of-the-byzantine-coins-in-the-dumbarton-oaks-collection-and-in-the-whittemore-collection-2https://www.doaks.org/research/publications/books/catalogue-of-the-byzantine-coins-in-the-dumbarton-oaks-collection-and-in-the-whittemore-collection-3https://www.doaks.org/research/publications/books/catalogue-of-the-byzantine-coins-in-the-dumbarton-oaks-collection-and-in-the-whittemore-collection-4https://www.doaks.org/research/publications/books/catalogue-of-the-byzantine-coins-in-the-dumbarton As for this denomination I have spent 20+ years collecting it and in the later years studying all I could. Perfect examples are difficult to find, the coin was made so abundantly they did not take the time. Both examples posted above by @Valentinian and @JeandAcre are very nice and do have good legends. However both of the coins are city tetartera and both are more difficult to find. They did not really circulate outside of the capital, Constantinople. As for legends, they remain fairly consistent in the first part of the century, in the later years before the fall to the Latins they become numerous and difficult to get all of the variations. This tiny half tetarteron was beautifully made with good dies, just a bit Off center to be choice. This Andronicus I full tetarteron is also nicely struck, it cointains the abbreviated legends. Here is another half tetarteron of Manuel I, the nicest I have seen, perfect patina. And this is one of my favorites, An Alexius I cross coin but with complete legends. One of the best examples known. It is an interesting series, I have completed it all the way to Alexius III, An Alexius IV or 2nd reign of Isaac II would add to the collection, have not had the opportunity to get one of those yet. The REX tetarteron I am waiting until the price goes down, many examples are in the market, I just think there are too many for the price it commands.

Very nice example @Valentinian , it is a rarer one and it is a city ( Metropolitain) coin, so it did have silver content around 2 to 4%. The coin in its original issue would have been silvered as well. Here is one example with some silvering still intact. The legend was true, he was born in the purple room, that meant he was born to rule. He was the first one in a long time to get to use that. John was called John the beautiful, not because he was good looking but because of his pious ways. His coinage was at the highest standard of the century. Ironically, John III a century later knocked it off, his gold coinage was less pure but identical to John II even using the legend of born to the purple. Here is an image of one of the last tetartera, just before the Assarion replaced it. It was issued by Andronicus II and its imagery is very similar. SBCV-2358

I am stuck on this one. The little of the Legend I see is IW leading me to John, the style is 13th century,. Two rulers and Christ on OBV, note the overstrike marks on the bottom left of OBV, 23mm and 1.5gm Anybody seeing what I am not? Assistance is appreciated.

@Zimm You might be very correct. It looks like it. Thank You.

@Nerosmyfavorite68 I did very little on the Isaac of Cyprus coin above, dipped it in some harsh chemicals, now days I am a bit more conservative, a little soak in verdi care will do no damage and give you a clearer view.

Before and after cleaning, hard to believe.

It needs to be cleaned first, what looks like a beard now might be clearer after some Verdi care. Right now, like you I see a long beard. I would not consider it conclusive until you have it in hand. IMHO Simon

26.27mm and 2.2gm I think it is Lianta 515 Michael VIII 1261-1282. Just a coin that caught my attention, If I I misattributed, please correct me. Here is the reverse darkened for perhaps more detail.

This giant Justinian follis was not only pierced but it was silvered as well. 38.22 mm and 20.7gm This came as part of a freebee, I bought a group lot from a dealer, and he surprised me with adding this oddity. I wonder who wore it and how cool it must have looked when fully silvered.

Rarely with this much silver. Most trachea issues had 8% during the time of Alexius I to John II, it drops after that during the rule of Manuel, he lowered it to 6 to 7% then falls to 2% by the time of Isaac II. John II sems to have the most with some recorded at 11%, I think my example has more than that. I think since John's coinage surpassed his fathers is the main reason John III chose to copy some of his coinage a century later. One interesting note that is a fact is in the empire before the Latin rule, it was illegal to not accept the new coinage (debased) as the same value of the old coinage. My coin posted earlier in the thread had an interesting story when I purchased the coin, two dealers in the Pacific Northwest had a dispute regarding the hoard this coin came from. One thought it was electrum, to settle the dispute the hoard was sent to David Sear, and he declared them to be heavily silvered. I have no paperwork regarding David Sears verdict, it was just a story retold to me when I purchased the coin. Here are two more that have a high silver content. The one on the left is A John II Type A no cross on shaft, the one on the right with the dark junk on it is Alexius I. (Pardon the photo, they were on my dresser, I am recouping from dental surgery this morning, so I just took a pic with my phone. )

JOHN II BILLION TRACHY NOMISA IV DOC 10 Constantinople SBCV-1944 OBV IC XC in field Bust of Christ bearded and nimbate, wearing tunic and kolobion, holds Gospels in l. hand. Pellet in each limb of nimbus cross. REV Bust of emperor wearing stemma, divitision,collar piece and paneled loros of a simplified type; holds in r hand scepter cruciger and in l. gl.cr Size 29.10 Weight 4.9gm DOC lists 20 examples total with weights from 2.59gm to 5.00 gm and sizes from 28 to 30 mm. It has two variations A and B , both are equal in rarity , the difference is a stroke on shaft on type B. This coin is very heavily silvered, it was part of a hoard that was once thought to be electrum, it is not, just very heavily silvered.