569th Anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople: Post your favorite Byzantine!

[TheTrachyEnjoyer]

Its that time of year, ladies and gentlemen. On this day (May 29th) 569 years ago, the city of Constantinople fell to the Ottoman turks after a begrueling siege. The world’s best defense walls met the advent of cannon fire and the world’s largest cannon…

Coins from the siege do exist but I am not a millionaire so I can’t post one that I own 😔. Instead, I will share this example from coinweek: 

https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/the-last-coins-of-the-roman-empire/
 

 

In honor of this momentous day, post your favorite Byzantine coin!

Mine is this unpublished silver trachy of John III Vatazes. It is the first super super rare Byzantine coin I acquired and helped lead me to collect the coins I do today!

Edited May 29, 2022 by TheTrachyEnjoyer

[TheTrachyEnjoyer]

4 minutes ago, Mat said:

Romanus IV (1068 - 1071 A.D.)

Æ Follis
Anonymous Class G
O: Bust of Christ facing raising hand and holding Book of Gospels, IC XC in fields.
R:Bust of Virgin Mary facing with both hands upraised.
5.41g
25mm
SB 1867

Great coin! Its hard to beat the Christian iconography of this particular issue which seems to carry above average style. 

[Troyden]

My favourite is of course the big follis of Justinian I. Constantinople mint, weight 23.04 g, diameter circa 40 mm. Catalogue: Sear 163. Regnal year XII, corresponding to 538/9 CE.

Though as many already know, I'm personally quite ambiguous as to the man's achievements.

[TheTrachyEnjoyer]

6 minutes ago, Troyden said:

My favourite is of course the big follis of Justinian I. Constantinople mint, weight 23.04 g, diameter circa 40 mm. Catalogue: Sear 163. Regnal year XII, corresponding to 538/9 CE.

Though as many already know, I'm personally quite ambiguous as to the man's achievements.

Lovely patina and style! I must agree with your take. Imagine how difficult Byzantine history looks with the treasury of Anastasius used against Arab incursions…there might still be a roman empire today 

[ValiantKnight]

I’d say this is my favorite, since I am fond of the western Byzantine issues such as Rome, Ravenna, and Carthage:

Justinian I, Byzantine Empire
AE follis
Obv: D N IVSTINI-ANVS P P AVG, pearl-diademed, draped, bust right
Rev: Large M, cross above, cross to left, star to right, all within wreath
Mint: Rome
Mintmark: ROMA (in exergue)
Date: 537-542 AD
Ref: SB 293

I don’t have a coin of the last emperor (Constantine XI) who went down fighting in Constantinople’s streets in 1453, but I do have a couple of his predecessor, John VIII.

John VIII Palaiologos, Byzantine Empire
AR stavraton
Obv: IC-XC, Facing bust of Christ, surrounded by eight dots
Rev: IWANHC DECPOTIC O PALEOLOGOC QV XAPITI AVTOKPATOP in two lines around nimbate facing bust of the emperor, dot to left and right
Mint: Constantinople
Date: 1425-1448
Ref: SB 2563
Size: 6.66 gr.



John VIII Palaiologos, Byzantine Empire
AR half-stavraton
Obv: IC-XC, Facing bust of Christ
Rev: IWANHC DECPOTIC Q PALEOLOGOC, nimbate facing bust of the emperor
Mint: Constantinople
Date: 1425-1448
Ref: SB 2565
Size: 3.3 gr.

[Troyden]

3 minutes ago, TheTrachyEnjoyer said:

Lovely patina and style! I must agree with your take. Imagine how difficult Byzantine history looks with the treasury of Anastasius used against Arab incursions…there might still be a roman empire today 

Of even bigger consequence was how much Justinian was able to antagonize religious minorities. They went from being mere malcontents straight into a fifth column waiting to get rid of Roman rule. 

[ValiantKnight]

This one is definitely among my favorite Byzantine coins in my collection:

Justinian I, Byzantine Empire
AE follis
Obv: D N IVSTINI-ANVS P P AVG, diademed, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, holding globus cruciger and shield, cross to right
Rev. Large M, cross above, officina letter Δ below, ANNO to left, XX to right, mintmark QHЧΠ in ex
Mint: Theopolis (Antioch)
Date: 546/7 (year 20)
Ref: SB 220
Size: 19.9 gr., 39 mm

[TheTrachyEnjoyer]

4 minutes ago, ValiantKnight said:

I’d say this is my favorite, since I am fond of the western Byzantine issues such as Rome, Ravenna, and Carthage:

Justinian I, Byzantine Empire
AE follis
Obv: D N IVSTINI-ANVS P P AVG, pearl-diademed, draped, bust right
Rev: Large M, cross above, cross to left, star to right, all within wreath
Mint: Rome
Mintmark: ROMA (in exergue)
Date: 537-542 AD
Ref: SB 293

I don’t have a coin of the last emperor (Constantine XI) who went down fighting in Constantinople’s streets in 1453, but I do have a couple of his predecessor, John VIII.

John VIII Palaiologos, Byzantine Empire
AR stavraton
Obv: IC-XC, Facing bust of Christ, surrounded by eight dots
Rev: IWANHC DECPOTIC O PALEOLOGOC QV XAPITI AVTOKPATOP in two lines around nimbate facing bust of the emperor, dot to left and right
Mint: Constantinople
Date: 1425-1448
Ref: SB 2563
Size: 6.66 gr.



John VIII Palaiologos, Byzantine Empire
AR half-stavraton
Obv: IC-XC, Facing bust of Christ
Rev: IWANHC DECPOTIC Q PALEOLOGOC, nimbate facing bust of the emperor
Mint: Constantinople
Date: 1425-1448
Ref: SB 2565
Size: 3.3 gr.

Excellent! The rome mint is rare indeed! Those stavratons have nice style as well

[TheTrachyEnjoyer]

Just now, ValiantKnight said:

This one is definitely among my favorite Byzantine coins in my collection:

Justinian I, Byzantine Empire
AE follis
Obv: D N IVSTINI-ANVS P P AVG, diademed, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, holding globus cruciger and shield, cross to right
Rev. Large M, cross above, officina letter Δ below, ANNO to left, XX to right, mintmark QHЧΠ in ex
Mint: Theopolis (Antioch)
Date: 546/7 (year 20)
Ref: SB 220
Size: 19.9 gr., 39 mm

Lovely style!!

[AncientNumis]

Here’s my only Byzantine coin, really common but it was extremely inexpensive so I bought it! 

[Lhevae]

Great Justinian @ValiantKnight, I love it.

I only have one byzantine coin so far, but I'm looking forward to add more to my collection in the future.

BYZANTINE EMPIRE, Alexius I Comnenus (1081-1118). AV Hyperpyron Nomisma (33mm, 4.42g), Constantinople mint (1092-1118).

Obv. : + KЄ ROHΘЄI / IC - XC, Christ Pantokrator enthroned facing

Rev. : AΛЄΞIω ΔЄCΠOTH - Tω KOMNHNω, Alexius standing facing, holding labarum and globus cruciger; manus Dei to upper right.

Sear 1912; DOC 20c.

Ex. CNG, Auction 99, lot 860 ; Ex. Prue Morgan Fitts.

[Severus Alexander]

Impossible to pick an absolute favourite so I'll include a few!  I'm sure @TheTrachyEnjoyer will forgive me. ☺️

First, there's my recently acquired 2 Johns rarity that I posted about here: 

 (Cool, this forum site automatically gives you a little preview of the post!)

The next coin that occurs to me is this half miliaresion of Leo III.  Introduced along with the new miliaresion denomination, this was probably a ceremonial issue.  Touched by the emperor?!?  As far as I know there are only 4 known:

(DOC 23, SB 1512A)

I feel privileged to own an ex @ValiantKnight example of Justinian's Rome mint half follis.  The significance of these western issues never fails to impress me:

And who doesn't love their huge Justinian folles?

At the other end of the scale, I really enjoy terrible portraiture.  My prize coin in this department is this "Lowly Worm" Phocas pentanummium (Constantinople mint?):

While the ID isn't 100% certain, I believe this is the only known year 9 Justinian II Constantinople half follis:

I think this next one was the first really cool Byzantine coin that I got.  It's a Tiberius III Apsimar overstruck on Leontius! (I love overstrikes.)

This next one looks pretty unassuming, but it's the very rare last issue of Michael III on Syracuse (SB 1698 as opposed to the less scarce 1697).  (Allegedly there are some examples of Basil I, but I'm a bit skeptical of them.)  Last gasp in AE before the Muslim conquest of Sicily.

(By contrast, Basil I is relatively easy to find in debased gold.  Here's my semissis.  Not perhaps among my absolute favourites, but I still like it a lot.

end parenthesis)

I can't get enough of this Nic II Phocas portrait:

And I'm very attached to my ex Stevex6 "zombie Jesus" coin, also of Nic II Phocas (obviously a fourrée solidus):

Jumping forward, I love my trachy of Michael VIII who reclaimed Constantinople from the barbarous westerners.  The key feature for me is that he's holding a model of the city, quite symbolic of his achievement:

Since we're talking about the Conquest, I'll close with my most closely-linked coin (lacking a Constantine XI of course.  Calling @voulgaroktonou!)  It's the very first coin issued by Mehmet the Conqueror from the Constantinople mint, an AH 865 akce = 1460-61:

So, erm, perhaps that's more than a few of my faves. ☺️ You gotta indulge me, I have cancer. 😛

 

[Valentinian]

Here is a Byzantine on one of the pages on my site "Introduction toByzantine Coins":
http://augustuscoins.com/ed/Byz/index.html
I like it for two good reasons. One is, it is an excellent example of a very rare type issued for only a very short time.

Theophilus (829-842) and his son Constantine.
31-30 mm. 8.40 grams.
The coin was struck 830 or 831.
The figure on the right is Theophilus's son, Constantine.
The obverse legend names both: ΘЄOFILOS S COSTAҺC
The second S-like symbol is for "and".

In this period sons were promoted to the throne young and the portrait coins do not reflect the co-ruler's true age. In this case Constantine was an infant who died within a year, making this issue very rare.

Sear 1665, at Constantinople. 

 

The second reason I always think of when I look at it is that it was in a major firm's auction and it was, amazingly, overlooked. I won it for only a small fraction of the only other PR on acsearch.  

[Severus Alexander]

1 minute ago, Valentinian said:

The second reason I always think of when I look at it is that it was in a major firm's auction and it was, amazingly, overlooked. I won it for only a small fraction of the only other PR on acsearch. 

I bet many people passed over it quickly, thinking it was this:

i.e. Michael II with Theophilos.  I always assume these large double portrait coins are those... now I'll be more careful! 🙂

[quant.geek]

Here is one from Nicephorus I, who ended up as a skull cup of Khan Krum of Bulgaria in 811 😁

Byzantine Empire: Nicephorus I (802-811) Æ Follis, Syracuse (Sear 1612; DOC III.10; Anastasi 465)

Obv: N-I/K/H; Crowned bust of Nicephorus facing, wearing loros and holding cross potent
Rev: C-T/A/V; Crowned bust of Stauracius facing, wearing chlamys and holding cross potent
Dim: 21mm, 3.25 g, 6h

 

Edited May 29, 2022 by quant.geek

[seth77]

An Asian(?) mint -- Magnesia(?) for Michael VIII S2289 DOC 129 Class XXIX (Constantinople):
 

 

An Epirote inspiration at Thessalonica ca. 1235/6 or 1237 for Manuel of the Komnenodoukai or Michael II of Epiros S2182:

 

 

An Asian "provincial" coinage from Magnesia(?) and/or Philadelphia(?) either for Andronikos II with Michael IX (ca. 1300) or Michael IX with Andronikos III (post 1315) S2464:

[TheTrachyEnjoyer]

1 hour ago, Severus Alexander said:

Impossible to pick an absolute favourite so I'll include a few!  I'm sure @TheTrachyEnjoyer will forgive me. ☺️

First, there's my recently acquired 2 Johns rarity that I posted about here: 

 (Cool, this forum site automatically gives you a little preview of the post!)

The next coin that occurs to me is this half miliaresion of Leo III.  Introduced along with the new miliaresion denomination, this was probably a ceremonial issue.  Touched by the emperor?!?  As far as I know there are only 4 known:

(DOC 23, SB 1512A)

I feel privileged to own an ex @ValiantKnight example of Justinian's Rome mint half follis.  The significance of these western issues never fails to impress me:

And who doesn't love their huge Justinian folles?

At the other end of the scale, I really enjoy terrible portraiture.  My prize coin in this department is this "Lowly Worm" Phocas pentanummium (Constantinople mint?):

While the ID isn't 100% certain, I believe this is the only known year 9 Justinian II Constantinople half follis:

I think this next one was the first really cool Byzantine coin that I got.  It's a Tiberius III Apsimar overstruck on Leontius! (I love overstrikes.)

This next one looks pretty unassuming, but it's the very rare last issue of Michael III on Syracuse (SB 1698 as opposed to the less scarce 1697).  (Allegedly there are some examples of Basil I, but I'm a bit skeptical of them.)  Last gasp in AE before the Muslim conquest of Sicily.

(By contrast, Basil I is relatively easy to find in debased gold.  Here's my semissis.  Not perhaps among my absolute favourites, but I still like it a lot.

end parenthesis)

I can't get enough of this Nic II Phocas portrait:

And I'm very attached to my ex Stevex6 "zombie Jesus" coin, also of Nic II Phocas (obviously a fourrée solidus):

Jumping forward, I love my trachy of Michael VIII who reclaimed Constantinople from the barbarous westerners.  The key feature for me is that he's holding a model of the city, quite symbolic of his achievement:

Since we're talking about the Conquest, I'll close with my most closely-linked coin (lacking a Constantine XI of course.  Calling @voulgaroktonou!)  It's the very first coin issued by Mehmet the Conqueror from the Constantinople mint, an AH 865 akce = 1460-61:

So, erm, perhaps that's more than a few of my faves. ☺️ You gotta indulge me, I have cancer. 😛

 

With late byzantine coins like that, please post more! That tornese is amazing

[TheTrachyEnjoyer]

23 minutes ago, seth77 said:

An Asian(?) mint -- Magnesia(?) for Michael VIII S2289 DOC 129 Class XXIX (Constantinople):
 

 

An Epirote inspiration at Thessalonica ca. 1235/6 or 1237 for Manuel of the Komnenodoukai or Michael II of Epiros S2182:

 

 

An Asian "provincial" coinage from Magnesia(?) and/or Philadelphia(?) either for Andronikos II with Michael IX (ca. 1300) or Michael IX with Andronikos III (post 1315) S2464:

Love it! We need more Manuel Ducas coins shared!

[JeandAcre]

Here's one, bought only last year, a standard-brand anonymous follis of Basil II and Constantine VIII.

 

Except, Thank you, I really need it for the nearly complete obverse legend, and the least worn portrait of Christ, that I've ever owned, for the entire subseries of these.  @TheTrachyEnjoyer, i remember you (...Unless it was Only a Poor Old Man) talking about how the wear on these can be attributed to their function, in people's pockets (or the equivalent), as miniature ikons. 

Whichever of you said that, I got lots of traction with it.  ...From an earlier Western medieval place, where these often otherwise execrable deniers function as miniature historical documents.

Edited May 30, 2022 by JeandAcre

[Alegandron]

Here is a good Byzantine…

This guy took Constantinople...

 
Ottoman Turks Sultan Mehmet II 1451-1481 took Constantinople in 1453 Serez mint AR 1.2g

[JeandAcre]

...Well, okay, maybe that was just a little tone-deaf, regarding the history, and where various people are with it, on subjective levels. 

But I've had next-door neighbors, (Sunni) Muslims from Chicago, who, I can promise you, were scarier for being from Chicago than for being Muslim. 

...And they weren't, really, on either count.  When I was on the way to work, and saw the guy in the hallway, praying on his prayer rug,  all I had to do was to go down one flight of stairs, and I was already back on the way to catching the bus.

...Mehmet presided over some seriously evil sh-t.  Just as the Franks had done, a neat quarter-millennium earlier.  At least Mehmet, in quintessential Arabic [language] tradition, wrote some pretty good poetry about it.

...And, Please insert expetive (or multiples thereof) of choice, now I can't find a translation of the operative poem, even from Gibbon, who I think included some early version.  ...Another reason to hang on to your copy of (expletive, expletive, etc.) Gibbon.  ...If anyone could help out with that, especially from a better source, for the present purpose, that would not fail to elicit appreciation and gratitude.

Edited May 30, 2022 by JeandAcre

[TheTrachyEnjoyer]

8 hours ago, JeandAcre said:

...Well, okay, maybe that was just a little tone-deaf, regarding the history, and where various people are with it, on subjective levels. 

But I've had next-door neighbors, (Sunni) Muslims from Chicago, who, I can promise you, were scarier for being from Chicago than for being Muslim. 

...And they weren't, really, on either count.  When I was on the way to work, and saw the guy in the hallway, praying on his prayer rug,  all I had to do was to go down one flight of stairs, and I was already back on the way to catching the bus.

...Mehmet presided over some seriously evil sh-t.  Just as the Franks had done, a neat quarter-millennium earlier.  At least Mehmet, in quintessential Arabic [language] tradition, wrote some pretty good poetry about it.

...And, Please insert expetive (or multiples thereof) of choice, now I can't find a translation of the operative poem, even from Gibbon, who I think included some early version.  ...Another reason to hang on to your copy of (expletive, expletive, etc.) Gibbon.  ...If anyone could help out with that, especially from a better source, for the present purpose, that would not fail to elicit appreciation and gratitude.

Mehmet was psychotic. Most other sultans were normal people who happened to be against Byzantium but Mehmet legitimately enjoyed inflicting pain and suffering. A famous story goes that when Mehmet went to attack Vlad the Impaler, Vlad…well…did his thing. He impaled 20,000 captured ottomans alongside a road Mehmet and his troops passed. The ottoman soldiers were horrified and disgusted by what they say but Mehmet was delighted. He was the kind of ruler who not only used but enjoyed brutal punishments. 

[JeandAcre]

2 hours ago, TheTrachyEnjoyer said:

Mehmet was psychotic. Most other sultans were normal people who happened to be against Byzantium but Mehmet legitimately enjoyed inflicting pain and suffering. A famous story goes that when Mehmet went to attack Vlad the Impaler, Vlad…well…did his thing. He impaled 20,000 captured ottomans alongside a road Mehmet and his troops passed. The ottoman soldiers were horrified and disgusted by what they say but Mehmet was delighted. He was the kind of ruler who not only used but enjoyed brutal punishments. 

Yikes.  I had no idea that Mehmet was like that on a personal level.  Thanks for the, ahem, enlightenment.

[TheTrachyEnjoyer]

8 minutes ago, JeandAcre said:

Yikes.  I had no idea that Mehmet was like that on a personal level.  Thanks for the, ahem, enlightenment.

Anthony Kaldellis introductory book on his translations of Laonikos Chalkokondlies does a good job of exploring the social context between byzantines and muslims in this era. Its called "A New Herodotus" due to how Laonikos masterfully emulates that historian. He is considered to be the last heir of the classical historian tradition, writing in the 1470s.

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

 

Constantine X Ducas, 1059-1067.

He was the founder and first ruling member of the short-lived Doukid dynasty. During his reign, the Normans took over much of the remaining Byzantine territories in Italy while in the Balkans the Hungarians occupied Belgrade. He also suffered defeats by the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan. Somewhat unhealthy throughout his reign, he died in 1067 at the age of 61.


AV Histamenon Nomisma. (AV, 28 mm, 4.41 g, 5 h), Constantinople. +IhS XIS RЄX RЄςNANTҺIm Christ, nimbate, seated facing on square-backed throne, wearing tunic and pallium, raising his right hand in benediction and holding book of Gospels in his left. Rev. +KωN RAC Λ O ΔOVKAC Constantine X standing facing, wearing crown and loros, holding labarum in his right hand and globus cruciger in his left. DOC 1a. SB 1847.

Long live the Byzantine Empire. May Constantine Palaelogus Return!

 

Edited May 30, 2022 by Ancient Coin Hunter