The 491-492 Thesallonica mint mistery and the end of Isaurian dominance

[Rand]

I would like to share my speculations on the historical context of these three 491-492 Thellaloniki mint solidi from my collection.

 

 

Solidus in the name of Anastasius (April 491 - August 492). Mint of Thessaloniki

• Obverse: DN ANASTASIVS PERP AVC. Helmeted and cuirassed bust facing slightly right, holding spear over shoulder and shield decorated with horseman motif.
• Reverse: VICTORIA AVCCC. In exergue: CONOB. Victory is standing left, holding a long jewelled cross, stars to both sides (left partly removed).
• Weight 4.47 g.
• Sale provenance: Roma Numismatics, Auction 12. 29/09/2016, lot 1109.
• Collection provenance: Unknown
• Findspot: Unknown

 

 

Solidus in the name of Anastasius (April 491 - August 492). Mint of Thessaloniki

• Obverse: DN ANASTASIVS PERP AVC. Helmeted and cuirassed bust facing slightly right, holding spear over shoulder and shield decorated with horseman motif.
• Reverse: VICTORIA AVCCC. In exergue: CONOB. Victory is standing left, holding a long jewelled cross, stars to both sides.
• Weight 4.39 g.
• Sale provenance: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG, eLive Auction 60. 26/05/2020, lot 6367; Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG, Auction 97. 07/03/2005, lot 2043; Gorny & Mosch Giessener Münzhandlung, Auction 126. 14/10/2003, lot 2904.
• Collection provenance: Unknown
• Findspot: Unknown

 

Solidus in the name of Anastasius (April 491 - August 492). Mint of Thessaloniki

• Obverse: DN ANASTASIVS PERP AVC. Helmeted and cuirassed bust facing slightly right, holding spear over shoulder and shield decorated with horseman motif.
• Reverse: VICTORIA AVCCC. In exergue: CONOB. Victory is standing left, holding a long jewelled cross, stars to both sides.
• Weight 4.46 g.
• Sale provenance: Classical Numismatic Group, Electronic Auction 571. 25/09/2024, lot 1216.
• Collection provenance: Unknown
• Findspot: Unknown

Historical context

Two days after Zeno died, Anastasius was crowned Roman Emperor in Constantinople on 11th April 491. Together with Zeno ended Isaurian dominance. From Theodosius II, Isaurians from mountainous South Anatolia were vital to counterforce the Goths, reaching the peak of their influence under Zeno, the Isaurian himself. This changed in 489 when the Goths left to follow Theodoric to Italy, and the empire no longer needed the unruly Isaurians. Unsurprisingly, Anastasius removed them from the capital and imperial politics at the first opportunity. Such an opportunity occurred a few months into the reign by accusing them of instigating the riot in the Hippodrome. Zeno's brother Longinus was banished to the Thebaid, where he died of starvation; Anastasius withdrew the annual donation introduced in 484, and all Isaurian property was confiscated.

 Of note, Isaurian leaders started a revolt at the announcement of Anastasius' accession as if they knew what would follow. The combined forces of the banished and local Isaurians totalled up to 150,000, and they had access to supplies and arms in a store established by Zeno. They advanced to Phrygia, where they were met by the imperial forces. Although the imperial army reportedly numbered only 2,000, the Isaurians were defeated and fled to their strongholds in the Taurus mountains.

 While the Isaurians were no longer needed to balance the Goths, someone was needed to have the Isaurians out. The story of 2,000 Byzantines destroying 150,000 Isaurians is glorious but hard to believe. Why did Anastasius feel so bald acting against the Isaurians? He must have had a substantial force behind him, and if so, he needed money to pay for them. Literary sources and academic publications are rather silent about this. Can coins help to bridge the gap in knowledge? 

The coins

Anastasius used two mints for solidi in Constantinople and Thessaloniki, which were distinguished by two stars on the Thessaloniki reverses. The first solidi of Anastasius, minted over 17 months from April 491 till the new indiction cycle starting in September 492, are distinguished by ANASTASIVS(SIO) PERP legend, as opposed to ANASTASIVS PP after that. 

 Now, the interesting part starts. The 491-492 PEPR solidi from Constantinople are more common; I have traced 82 from projected 43 obverse and 67 reverse dies. The corresponding solidi from Thessaloniki are rarer. I could trace only 24, but the estimated number of dies is a whopping 168 for the obverse and 91 for the reverse. Different celator styles are evident and a lesser style of some dies may indicate emergency work. Even if the number is overestimated, the output must be huge. Assuming 20,000 solidi were minted per obverse die, 860,000 solidi were minted in Constantinople, and 3,360,000 solidi were minted in Thessaloniki! This is unprecedented for the Thessaloniki as an East Roman Mint and did not happen before or after. 

One possible explanation is that Anastasius requested the large-scale minting of gold in Thessaloniki, away from the capital, to fund an army recruitment against the Isaurians. This could make sense, as Anastasius could have concerns about the treasury safety in the capital. Given the scale of the minting, it was likely done from the very onset of the reign, perhaps before Anastasius felt ready to openly challenge Isaurians. This would also explain why Isaurians, aware of the new army recruited from outsiders, expected hostilities and revolted.

 

The monumental Arch of Galerius in Thessaloniki

 

Who the coins were minted for?

Who those mercenaries could be? I tried to trace the movement of the coins. Unfortunately, findspots are only available for three 491-492 Thessalonica solidi. All three were found on the route from Byzantine to Gotland island: one near Čataj in Slovakia, one in Botes in Gotland and one from the Royal Coin Cabinet in Stockholm (an obverse die-match to Čataj's solidus), which was also likely a local find. No such coins were found in the Eastern Empire, Italy, or Gaul territory.

 Metcalf, in his study of Thessalonian gold coins, states that the mint likely reflected the Thessalonica being the seat of a praetorian prefect of Illyricum, who was permitted to supervise the minting of gold. Metcalf's theory is that the "moneta auri" was primarily to serve fiscal and administrative needs. This may have been different in the historical years 491-492. 

I hope more coins will add to the story, but it looks like:

• the Anastasian army recruits to fight Isaurians were from Eastern and Northern Europe.
• Thessalonica mint could have been very active in 491-492 to fund the recruitment.
• Anastasius perhaps did not want the Ostrogoths back and the Ostrogoth they were busy sieging Odovacer, anyway.
•  

References:

• Nicks FK. The Reign of Anastasius I, 491-518: PhD Thesis, University of Oxford; 1998
• Metclaf DM. The Mint of Thessalonica in the Early Byzantine Period. Publications de l'École Française de Rome, Année 1984;77:111-129
• Metcalf DM. Studies in Early Byzantine Gold Coinage, New York, 1988, 65-109

Edited November 24 by Rand

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I find this topic interesting, and while I can't share an Anastasian solidus of any type, I do have a rather decrepit (for type)Zeno.  This, and the Leo, might have been used by one of the barbarian peoples of the time.  We'll never know.

 

Zeno second reign AV20 Solidus. Constantinople 

 

Obv: Helmeted, diademed and cuirassed bust of Zeno facing, holding spear over his right shoulder and with shield, ornamented with a horseman spearing a fallen foe, over his left. D N ZENO PERP AVG.

 

Rev: Victory standing left, holding long jeweled cross in her right hand, to right, star. VICTORIA AVGGG Δ, CONOB, 

 

RIC 910.  4.22g.  AD 476-491. 

[Tejas]

This is very interesting. Have you consulted the die studies of the Thesaloniki mint by Metcalf (Studies in Early Byzantine Gold Coinage, New York, 1988, 65-109)?

Hahn (MEC) states that the output of the Thesaloniki mint was small and that it was likely only used to re-strike coins that were withdrawn from circulation, because they were too worn.

[Rand]

Yes, I should have added it to the references (will add now). The study was the basis for my die study. It only includes 7 coins with photographs and 3 without. Of those 3, I could find two. The example from the British Museum was marked as not seen - I commissioned a photo from the BM below, which is now publicly available. For most of the listed coins, I found better photos that allowed die analysis.

I have seen the statement by Hahn, and it could be true for the Thessaloniki mint before 491 and after 492. It would be an exceptional emergency issue if the speculations above are true.

I have come across an opinion (cannot find the reference) that this issue lasted after 492,  and did not follow the mint in Constantinople. There is no data to support this. Given the tightly controlled bureaucracy of the period and the role of the solidi in taxation, it is unlikely that the Thessaloniki mint was left behind. There was a small Thessaloniki issue under Justinianus I, which followed the 492 style, but it would not be relevant for Anastasius.

 

© The Trustees of the British Museum

[Rand]

1 hour ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

This, and the Leo, might have been used by one of the barbarian peoples of the time. 

This is a nice coin. Its style is not fully typical of Contantinople and reminds me solidi in the name of Anastasius from Rome. However, it has CONOB rather than COMOB, which would be expected for Rome.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Here's the Leo.   I bought them because they were more banged up than normal, and thus affordable to me. Both also were upgrades to decrepit AE4's.

[Tejas]

There is strong evidence for an outflow of minted gold to Scandinavia (Gotland and Öland in particular) at the time. While this could indicate some sort of trading relationships, I think it is likely that the gold was payment for "mercenaries". The group that was most likely responsible for this are the Heruls (Eruli). I think that Heruls were not so much an ethnoym, but a designation for Scandinavians operating outside Scandinavia, much like the later Vikings. Heruls were part of every military operation at the time. They were regarded as particularly warlike and effective and the tradition of hiring Scandinavian mercenaries continued right until the middle ages with the emperors' Varangian guard. 

Interestingly, the Heruls created a shortlived kingdom in what is now Slovakia, which seems to have served as a base for Herul warriors moving between the Roman Empire and Scandinavia. Hence, the four coins with findspot provenances from Slovakia to Sweden fit very well to this picture. 

Edited November 25 by Tejas

[Rand]

Thank you, @Tejas This is very interesting and seems to corraborate the considerations above.

Edited November 25 by Rand

[Rand]

Another point I am curious about is the high estimate of the number of dies relative to the few surviving coins. 

For Constantinople, the number of recorded coins per die is 2.9 for the obverse and 2.2 per reverse; for Thessaloniki, it is only 1.1 and 1.3, respectively. The Constantinople solidi are found across North Africa, Jordan, Turkey, Macedonia, elsewhre on Balkans and Sweden. Even though the period was relatively peaceful and the numbers were relatively low. Why are there so few surviving examples per die for the Thessaloniki solidi? There are hardly any die duplicates. Such a low ratio is not uncommon for several Western series.

I have not run formal statistics (I can), but I am sure there would be a statistically significant difference in the survival rate, and the observation is not random.

The melting pot may partly be blamed, but a peasant in North Africa would not be more passionate about the coins than a peasant in Slovenia. Sweden has had very long regulations supporting the preservation of finds (they belonged to the king), so finds might have been better preserved (but who knows).

Edited November 25 by Rand

[Hrefn]

Of the solidi of Anastasius found in Scandinavia and the routes between there and the empire, how many are from the Thessalonica mint, and how many of the Constantinople mint?  This paper discusses late Roman and Byzantine solidi found in Denmark.  The author divides her findings into coins found in Bornholm, an island she finds analogous to Öland;  and coins found in the remainder of Denmark.  

https://www.academia.edu/1506728/Late_Roman_and_Byzantine_coins_found_in_Denmark

If I am reading her tables correctly, seven solidi of Anastasius from the Constantinople mint have been found on Bornholm, and three others in the rest of Denmark.  One or two Ostrogothic solidi portraying Anastasius have also been found.  But no coins of the Thessalonica mint.  

There are 81 solidi of Anastasius found in Sweden according to the following:

http://numismatics.org/digitallibrary/ark:/53695/nnan59692

I am not sure how many of these can be attributed to Thessalonica, as I do not possess this book, but I think it would be important to know.  

If there was a large influx of Thessalonican solidi of Anastasius into the Scandinavian economy, one might expect this to be reflected in the hoard evidence.  It seems universally believed that the major source of gold coins into Scandinavia at this time was from warriors serving as Roman mercenaries.  If there is little hoard evidence of Thessalonican coins, it calls the theory into question that Thessalonica was a major source of payments for mercenaries.  Alternatively, one must explain why the posited millions of Thessalonican gold coins never made it to Scandinavia with returning warriors.  

 

 

 

[Rand]

Thank you, @Hrefn

I have carefully checked the Scandinavian collections, starting from the 'Late Roman and Byzantine solidi found in Sweden and Denmark' (I can share a pdf of the book) and cross-referencing to earlier and later publications. Before the State Historical Museum in Stockholm put its collections online (not the most user-friendly resource), I followed and kept photographs from various published and online projects they participated in. For most Anastasian solidi found in Scandinavian countries, I now have 3-4 records/photos. So this part of the world is covered quite well, I think. Balkan countries are also great in this regard. I wish we had the same coverage for Greek, Turkish and some Italian museums, but parts of their collections (except Greek) were published at some point or another, giving an idea about their finds. 

I share your thoughts. Unless the Thessaloniki solidi were produced at a much lower yield per die, they must have gone somewhere. It is possible that most of them did not make it to Sweden, did not go to hoards, being recycled somehow (I have no clue how). The coin from Slovakia was a single find, not part of a Hoard. 
There are plenty of later Anastasian solidi found in Scandinavia until the flow stopped abruptly during Justinian I's reign. However, the minting shifted almost entirely to Constantinople. I know 55 of 492-507 Thessaloniki solidi: just above 2-fold more over 15 years than in <1.5 years of the 491-492 series. Also, there were either no Thessaloniki solidi minted in 507-518, or they had the same type as for 492-507, which would still mean that post-492 minting in Thessaloniki was negligible.

I cannot see much choice as waiting for more coins with findspots.

[Tejas]

What puzzles me is the high estimate of coins issued by the Thessaloniki mint. As I said earlier, W. Hahn (MIB) states that the mint issued only few coin, mostly to recycle worn coins and that it played no important role in the production of solidi. Is it possible that these estimates are way too high?

Regarding hoards, it is a shame that so much material was destroyed in previous centuries. For example, the hoard of Biesenbrow (north east of Berlin), which was found in the late 19th century contained several hundred solidi of Zeno, Anastasius etc. Unfortunately only a few pieces made it to public collections, the rest was melted down.

 

 

[Rand]

Estimates also puzzle me. Estimates are really only reliable when there are an average of 5 coins from each die or so.Otherwise, a few new die matches can bring the estimates down, considerably.

Still...

• when new coins appear, they keep adding new dies rather than die matches. I tried hard, and the searchers for these coins from old sales and museum collections are nearly exhausted (the Numismatic Museum in Athens is an exception);
• as it stands, I know 28 obverses from Constantinople PERP solidi and 21 obverses for Thessaloniki. This was a large output, irrespective of estimates!

[Hrefn]

Perhaps Thessalonica was the site of the vocational school to train new die engravers, hence lots of dies but few coins.  If a student became sufficiently competent, he was transferred to the capitol.  

(I propose this mostly as a jest, although as a theory it does fit the facts.)

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Very interesting and informative article @Rand and here we see outflows of precious metals from the East to the North and West perhaps not unlike the Viking hoards of dirhems later on in the Middle Ages. Tying this outflow to Scandinavian mercenaries makes a lot of sense, along with the contemporaneous demise of Isaurian influence in Constantinople and the Eastern empire.

[Tejas]

Here is the quote from Hahn, Wolfgang (2005) Zur Münzprägung des frühbyzantinischen Reiches, 12-13:

 

"... Apart from Constantinople, gold coins in the name of Anastasius were minted in smaller mints. However, only Thessalonica belonged to his direct domain, while the Italian mints were under Ostrogothic administration. Their identification, i.e. their separation from the coins minted in the capital, is unproblematic, even if they do not bear ‘speaking’ signatures. Since the restriction of gold coinage to the seat of the Comes Sacrarum Largitionum in the later 4th century, Thessalonica had remained the only gold mint in the Eastern Empire apart from Constantinople, because it was the seat of the relatively small prefecture of Illyricum compared to the Oriens. However, it is questionable what specific supply mandate this small Moneta Auri had, which at that time was limited to rather small solidus issues and also has only a small find precipitation within the Illyrian prefecture. It is possible that only those gold coins that were withdrawn from circulation because their weight was too low were restruck ... "

If these estimates (Constantinople = 860,000 solidi vs. Thessalonica = 3,360,000 solidi in 492/493) are correct, that means that a lot of new coins from the mint of Thessalonica have been found since 2005 so that the assessment by Hahn (and Metcalf) is no longer valid. This is remarkable and warrants more research. 

Edited Friday at 07:33 AM by Tejas

[Rand]

From the 24 ANASTASIVS PERP (491-492) Thessaloniki solidi known to me, 8 solidi do not have pre-2005 provenance. It is possible that Hahn was not aware of some of the 16 remaning solidi. If his conclusions were based on 1988 Metcalf's work, only 7 were known.

I cannot see a firm reasoning, from all options, why 'It is possible that only those gold coins that were withdrawn from circulation because their weight was too low were restruck ...' was chosen, but his view may still be a least partly correct now if the 491-492 issue was an emegency issue separate from the usual minting workflow in Thessaloniki. The scale of minting of post-492 Anastasian solidi was remarkably lower.