Palaeologus Silver Stavraton,

[Simon]

A new one for my collection, John V with his new denomination, Silver stavraton. It was a replacement coin for the gold coinage and lasted until the Empires fall. This one is far from perfect but I liked the Christ portrait. It was said this abstract portrait of Christ represented an old Greek philosophy of Spiritualism, this was incorporated into Christianity as well as other faiths, Basically it meant True Beauty was from within. In turn the empires coinage became more abstract. 

Silver stavraton, cf. DOC V 1277 (also no sigla) & 1295 - 7 (similar rev.); Bendall LPC p. 154, 2; Lianta 900, Bendall PCPC 327, SBCV 2510, aVF, toned, die wear, obverse die crack (line below chin), flan cracks, legend not fully struck, 7.911g, 26.9mm, 180^o, Constantinopolis (Istanbul, Turkey) mint, phase VI, 1379 - 16 Feb 1391 A.D.; obverse bust of Christ facing, bearded, nimbate, wearing tunic and kolobion, IC - XC (Greek abbreviation: Ihsoús Xristós - Jesus Christ) flanking over Christ's shoulders, eight stars alternating with eight pellets in outer circle, no sigla; reverse + IW DECPOTHC KAI AVTOKPATOP AVG / + QVXAPITH BACIIL TWN PWMEWN (or similar, blundered, partly unstruck/off flan)), facing bust of John V, bearded, nimbate, wearing domed crown with pendilia, and maniakon, no sigla; from the Robert Wachter Collection.

Although John's name is not legible in the outer circle, attribution to John V is conclusively confirmed by three factors: (1) the heavy weight, nearly 8g, means it must be John V or the "heavy series" early in the reign of Manuel II, (2) although blundered, the inner legend is very similar to those used by John V, and not similar to those used on Manuel's heavy series, (3) the crude style and imperial garb on the reverse closely resembles the referenced plate coins from last phase of John's reign, DOC V pl. 69, 1295 - 1297.

 

This coin joins my John VIII

Here is a half from Manuel II

 

Feel free to share your late gold or silver. 

Edited September 19, 2022 by Simon

[sand]

@Simon Nice stavrata and half stavraton. As a Byzantine collector, I am fascinated by these late silver coins. They are certainly a long way, from the earliest Byzantine coins of the 5th century AD. Here are my 2 examples.

Here is my Manuel II half stavraton. These are seller photos.

Manuel II : AR Half Stavraton. 1391 AD To 1425 AD. Constantinople Mint. Sear 2551. Grierson 1517. 20 mm. 3.68 grams. Obverse Jesus Christ Bust Facing Front With Halo. Reverse Bust Of Emperor Facing Front "M-A-N-O-V-H-Lambda" Greek For "Manuel" Clockwise Starting At 12 O'Clock.

And here is my John VIII stavraton. The 2nd pair of photos, shows the obverse with different lighting.

John VIII : AR Stavraton. 1425 AD To 1448 AD. Constantinople Mint. Sear 2563. 23 mm. 6.76 grams. Obverse Jesus Christ Bust Facing Front With Halo. Reverse Bust Of Emperor Facing Front "IWAN" Greek For "John" In Outer Legend Clockwise Starting At 12 O'Clock.

Edited September 19, 2022 by sand

[ValiantKnight]

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.

[TheTrachyEnjoyer]

My Stavraton of John VIII. Nice coins poste above, especially the John V

[Severus Alexander]

Nice score, @SimonW! These are increasingly difficult to get ahold of at a reasonable price.

Here is my collection's summary of emperors and denominations from 1341 until (near) the end:

(a die match proves the Andronicus IV, i.e. it's not a Manuel II.)

[sand]

@ValiantKnight Nice.

@TheTrachyEnjoyer It looks like your John VIII stavraton, and my John VIII stavraton, are a die match, for both the obverse and reverse. They even seem to have a similar amount of die wear.

@Severus Alexander Nice collection of very late Byzantine silver and bronze.

[quant.geek]

All of these stavraton are lovely. Here are two I purchased a while ago.  They are both from the Andre Constantine Dimitriadis Collection:

Byzantine, John VIII Palaeologus (1425-1448) AR stavraton, Constantinople (Sear-2563; DOC 1663)

Obv: Facing bust of Christ Pantocrator, with radiate nimbus, flanked by IC - XC and • - ? / + IΩANHC ΔECΠOTHC O ΠΑΛΕΟΛΟΓOC (outer circle);
Rev: + ΘV XAPITI AVTOKPATWP (inner circle), facing bust of John, crowned and nimbate; sigla: pellet | pellet

 

Byzantine Empire: Manuel II Palaeologus (1391-1425) AR half-stavraton, Constantinople (Sear-2551; DOC 1453)

Obv: Facing bust of Christ Pantocrator, with crucifom nimbus, holding book of Gospels; IC - XC over C - Φ flanking
Rev: [MA]NOVHΛ BACIΛЄVC O ΠΑΛЄ[OΛOΓOC], nimbate and crowned facing bust of Manuel; Φ-C flanking

[Simon]

 

I Got this new one from Superior Galleries, I am traveling so I have not seen it in person yet. I had several Manuel II 1/2 but not a John II. I need to get out my microscope to see if I can find more info on the legend, it is so abstract it looks like Constantine XI

Here is the seller's description. It is nice but with unclear legend it's hard to agree on the grade. 

★ Exceptional For The Issue ★

John VIII Palaeologus. AR Half Stavraton (3.3 gr.), 1425-1448. Constantinople. Nimbate bust of Christ facing; sigla: unclear / Nimbate facing bust of John; sigla: • | •. Cf. DOC 1781; PCPC 349 (unclear sigla); LPC p. 172, 2; SB 2565.

Good Very Fine, Very exceptional for the issue. One of the very finest known examples of this very hard issue.

[Glebe]

Seems to be the same dies as DOC 1754 of John VIII.

Ross G.

[Simon]

4 minutes ago, Glebe said:

Seems to be the same dies as DOC 1754 of John VIII.

Ross G.

Thank You Ross.

[Simon]

I just reshot the coin in hand. Nicer than the seller's photo.  I used no flash in the photo. 

I got it from Superior Galleries but sadly no flip to ID it, kind of disappointing, it is an old-time gallery, I was surprised to receive so little info about the coin. I am happy with the coin though. 

[voulgaroktonou]

I must spend more time on Numisfora! A lot of nice Palaeologan here! Here's some of my John VIIIs.

[Simon]

1 minute ago, voulgaroktonou said:

Here's some of my John VIIIs.

Your collection was part of my inspiration to add to mine.  Thank You for posting it here. 

[Severus Alexander]

On 11/23/2022 at 1:28 PM, Simon said:

I got it from Superior Galleries but sadly no flip to ID it, kind of disappointing, it is an old-time gallery,

Different company, same name. They're based in the United Arab Emirates.

8 hours ago, voulgaroktonou said:

I must spend more time on Numisfora! A lot of nice Palaeologan here! Here's some of my John VIIIs.

Great to see you here, @voulgaroktonou!! ☺️

[Simon]

7 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

Different company, same name. They're based in the United Arab Emirates.

I looked, all three are affiliated.  I did not know what one would ship the coin. You are correct the UAE shipped it.