I feel like I've definitely found another niche for me: Byzantine coins of Italy, namely from the 6th-7th centuries AD (right after the destruction of the Ostrogothic Kingdom). I was searching for some when I found this one, with the reverse-within-wreath that characterizes most small-denom Italian-Byzantine issues. Did the whole Helvetica spreadsheet thing and sure enough, it turns out it is indeed from Italy, a decanummium of Tiberius II Constantine (emperor from 574-582 AD), struck in Ravenna. Naturally I got excited and seeing it at a good price, I hit the Buy button as fast as I could Looks like it will clean up nice too. -Wikipedia from luc.edu (more here: http://www.luc.edu/roman-emperors/ticonii.htm) Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire in 600 AD As you can see the Italian peninsula was not fully under Eastern Roman control. Almost 20 years after taking the region from the Ostrogoths in the 550s, the peninsula was fully in Byzantine hands but was still recovering from decades of war and plague. This allowed the Germanic Lombard tribe to move in from the north almost unopposed, taking many cities and towns in the north and farther south. The Byzantines fought back however, and managed to retain parts of Italy, most importantly its capital (and center of Byzantine power in the region) Ravenna and the city of Rome. Italy would not be unified again until the 19th century. Tiberius II Constantine, Byzantine emperor (574-582 AD) AE Decanuumium (10 nummi) Obv: DM TIb CONSTANT PP AVG, crowned, cuirassed bust facing Rev: Large I, crosses to left and right, all within wreath Ravenna mint, struck 578-582 AD Ref: SB 472
Heeeeyyyyy... I recognise that coin. I wonder why? Here's another example, same type I believe: Tiberius II Constantine, 578-582 AD. AE Decanummium, Ravenna. DM TIb CONSTANT PP AVG, crowned and cuirassed bust facing, holding cross on globe / Large I, cross to left, cross to right, all within wreath. SB 472
I remembered you had a Byzantine Italian coin, vlaha, but not which emperor your coin was. Rough, but a good coin you have!
Yeah I'd leave it as is also. Perhaps the obverse a bit but I don't think it can be improved any more to be honest. The red on the reverse highlights the dark-colored details like the big I, so I would most likely leave that side alone if I were to clean it.
Very interesting coin, Jango ... oh and thanks for the write-up => congrats on another cool coin from these later centuries!!
