My new coin is of interest to me because it does not have the regular facing portrait of Christ expected in this era but shows St. George instead. The legend shown on the left is theta (saint) gamma E. The rest of the name is weak at the right. St. George wears a halo but his lacks the cross as shown on the halos of Christ. The other side of the coin shows Manual and MANUH DECpiO. Most of these seem to be struck on older coins trimmed down to size. Mine is 4.73g, 20mm (AE tetarteron) and attributed to the mint at Thessalonika. Below we see a Byzantine icon showing George in the same pose: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George#/media/File:Icon8.jpg and a contemporary church ceiling: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George#/media/File:Georgeladoga.jpg Compare the haircuts. These images predate George's association with dragon slaying as shown on UK crowns and before he got a helmet to cover the hair. Does anyone know a specific event that might have caused George to be given a place on these 12th century coins?
St George already was an important saint and martyr in the eastern orthodox church before the 11th century. I think his prominence on 12th century Byzantine coinage has to do with his fame as a saint-warrior in the war against the Seljuk Turks. Specifically, the legend goes that the battle of Antioch in 1098 was won because of the arrival of a reinforcement army personally led by St George. (Who had been dead already for 6 centuries then)
cool new byzantine! i thought i had a scyphate with st george, but it turns out it was st constantine instead. here's the last st george coin i purchased. some of you guys on the ancient board posted some of these (i think it was you DS) and i thought they were neat. picked this up at a very small coin show in my town (1 dealer!)...
St. George, hmm. Looks like I have one with him on a smaller Byzantine. Alexius III Angelus-Comnenus, CE 1197-1203 AE half tetarteron, 14 x 17 mm, 1.1 gm Thessalonica mint Obv: Θ/ΓE left P/W to right; St. George, bust facing, nimbate, wearing cuirasse and sagion, holding spear and sword hilt Rev: ALEXIW DECPOT, Alexius, crowned, wearing divitision and chlamys, standing facing, holding labarum and cross on globe, sometimes with hand of God at upper right Ref: SB 2016; BMC 41-42
