A Controversial Byzantine Solidus

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Al Kowsky, Jan 6, 2019.

  1. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    About 17 years ago Jonathan Kern & I worked out a trade deal where I swapped a 1802 (2 over 1) half eagle in EF 45 condition for a Byzantine gold solidus, 2 choice large Byzantine bronze coins & 4 choice Persian silver drachms. I bought the half eagle at a good price from another dealer & had no intention of keeping it. We were both happy with the deal. The gold solidus was a strong strike in mint state from the reign of Heraclius, AD 610 - 641, 4.52 gm, 22 mm, 7 h. The style of the solidus was odd & the mint mark was puzzling. Heraclius is considered one of the greatest emperors in Byzantine history for overthrowing the crude red haired tyrant Phocas, & restoring much of the empire from barbarian incursions. In the year 614 Persian forces sacked Jerusalem, looted the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, & carried off the True Cross & other relics associated with Jesus Christ. They then burnt the church to the ground. This event shocked the Christian world & Heraclius vowed revenge against Khusro II, & the Persian invaders. It took 12 years before Heraclius could muster the military strength to restore the Byzantine empire to its former greatness. His counter-offensive began in 622 with victory over the Avars, & then the Sassanian Persians. The Persians were crushed & their capital Ctesiphon looted. The army of Heraclius heroically returned the True Cross & other artifacts that had been looted to Jerusalem.
    Roman East & Byzantium 042 (2).jpg Roman East & Byzantium 044 (2).jpg
    The obverse of the solidus has a portrait of Heraclius with a short beard on the left side & his young son Heraclius Constantine on the right side. The inscription reads: dd . NN . HERACLIuS et hERA . CONST . P. The reverse pictures a Cross potent on three steps with CONOB beneath. The rest of the inscription reads: VICTORIA AVGuIX (IX being the mint mark). The coin was minted early in his reign, probably 613 - 618, & assumed to have been struck at the Jerusalem Mint by most numismatic authors, with some reservations. Some sources thought the coins could have been minted in Cyprus or Alexandria, or even a mobile mint traveling with Heraclius's army. In 1987 David Sear listed the coin under the Jerusalem Mint in his book BYZANTINE COINS AND THEIR VALUES. Harlan Berk listed also listed the coin under the Jerusalem Mint in his 1986 book Roman Gold Coins of the Medieval World, 383 - 1453 A.D. Wayne Sayles also listed & pictured the coin type under the Jerusalem Mint in his 1998 book ANCIENT COIN COLLECTING V, The Romaion / Byzantine Culture.
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    Jonathan Kern sent the coin to ICG (Independent Coin Grading) for slabbing & they put Jerusalem on the label. When Kern sent the coin to ICG for attribution & slabbing NGC had an ancient coin department that was amateurish, while ICG had a level of expertise that NCG lacked. Simon Bendall was the first expert to call this coin type a product of the Jerusalem Mint, & most numismatists followed suit. However, in 2002 he presented a research paper Byzantine coinage of the mint of Jerusalem, detailing four types of coins that had been attributed to the Jerusalem Mint, including bronze folli. This paper gives a close look at the history & transition from Phocas to Heraclius & the probability of which mints struck the coins in question. His paper is thoughtfully researched & gives a very convincing argument that the type solidus in my collection is not a product of the Jerusalem Mint. He does not determine where this type of solidus was minted but states they are not a product of the Constantinople Mint, the Antioch, Cyprus, or Alexandria Mint, but probably an Eastern mint. After digesting his paper I removed the coin from the ICG slab & much later sent the coin to NGC after learning David Vagi had taken the job of head of the ancient coin department. The coin came back labeled: MS(with star), Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, uncertain irregular mint. Today most numismatists believe this coin type was struck by a mobile military mint traveling with the army of Heraclius. Most of these coins on the market today, & the number is small, are in mint or near mint state, indicating they got little or no circulation. Sometimes what we assume to be most obvious is later discarded when new research presents itself. Anyone interested in Simon Bendall's paper can follow the link below.
    https://www.persee.fr/doc/numi_0484-8942_2003_num_6_159_2517
     
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  3. Theodosius

    Theodosius Fine Style Seeker

    Fascinating story and awesome coin.

    It surprises me sometimes how much is known about ancient coins rather than how little.

    I have to chuckle over ms-62 though...

    John
     
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  4. AussieCollector

    AussieCollector Moderator Moderator

    thanks for sharing @Al Kowsky , fascinating stuff. Fantastic coin too, I'm very jealous.

    I do however have to disagree with your description of Phocas. Yes, he was incompetent, yes his inexperience was the last thing ths Empire needed, yes he was paranoid, but was he a tyrant? And was his paranoia unjustified? The history books seem to tell us so, but the history books were written by those who overthrew him.

    This podcast from the History of Byzantium, titled "In fairness to Phocas", gives a more objective assessment of his reign than the standard throw away line of "he was a tyrant"

    https://thehistoryofbyzantium.com/2014/01/09/episode-42-in-fairness-to-phocas/
     
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  5. BenSi

    BenSi Well-Known Member

    Nice write up, it is interesting on the coins evolution in regards to its minting, however, if one comes up for auction again I bet it will retain a Jerusalem instead of unknown mint, most dealers do not keep up on the academic side and Jerusalem is a lot more sellable than unknown mint.
     
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2019
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  6. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    AussieCollector, Thanks for the take on Phocas. When I get time I'll explore the link. You're right about the ancient authors of history, they often wax the history to suit their own prejudices. Christian history is so full of contradictions that today we can see the end result with so many different sects & versions.
     
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  7. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    BenSi, You're right on! The label Jerusalem Mint has a magic aura about it & if you did a Google search I'm sure you'd find this coin type with the Jerusalem Mint label.
     
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  8. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    Theodosius, I agree, assigning a numerical grade to any ancient coin is an exercise in comedy :smuggrin:.
     
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  9. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    AussieCollector, This morning I did listen to the podcast In Fairness to Phocas with my morning coffee & enjoyed the narrators presentation; then listened to most of the following podcast on Heraclius. The narrator's historical facts were accurate but he clearly magnified the positive qualities & minimized the shortcomings of Phocas. The poor military planning of Phocas & his inability to unite the masses led to the Persian surge. One plot after another led Phocas to become paranoid & mentally unstable. Phocas in a movement of sheer stupidity decreed that all Jews should be converted to Christianity. This led to Jews in Antioch rebelling against Christians, creating a civil war within the empire at the worst possible time. The narrator failed to mention this along with the hideous forms of torture he employed: the introduction of the gallows & the rack, & the public blindings & mutilations in the Hippodrome. He ended up meeting the same fate as his predecessor Maurice Tiberius, he was slow-tortured, beheaded, & his body chopped up & fed to animals. A very fitting demise...
     
  10. Doubled Eye

    Doubled Eye Member

    Great research and information. Growing up in a Greek immigrant family we celebrated the repulsion of the Avar siege each year during Lent, during the Friday evening services called the "Salutations to the Virgin" or "Hairetismi." We sing the "akathistos" hymn, and every kid is taught in Sunday school that the word akathistos - not sitting down - comes from the Constantinopolitans processing and walking will the siege broke.

    Leeni Mari Peltomaa came out with research a few years ago arguing that the hymn dates not from the Avar siege but from the Ecumenical Council at Ephesus in 431.

    https://books.google.com/books?id=E...6AEILTAB#v=onepage&q=peltomaa ephesus&f=false

    Amazing to see a coin from that time and to learn about its connection to the military fallout.
     
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  11. Black Friar

    Black Friar Well-Known Member

    Al, thanks so much for your posting regarding the Jerusalem mint solidus. While I don't collect gold, I do love bronze, so I have a lot to choose from. I also was drawn into Arab/Byz as well as the Persian issues of Alexandria. I haven't read the Bendall paper yet, I'm saving it for later with a glass of wine, or martinii.

    This period of Byzantine numismatics would require two lifetimes to get through. The more coins I see from this period the more I want to delve into. Coin Talk participation has taken me to many places. It is a work of love, and I thank all who make it possible. I guess it's time for me to write a check again, and I encourage all who value this forum to think about donating to the cause.

    An old photo of a Heraclian 12 nummi/follis. It's the only photo I could get to strait away.
     

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  12. AussieCollector

    AussieCollector Moderator Moderator

    Thanks for listening to the podcast @Al Kowsky

    I think the narrator's point, and my point, is that he gets an overly bad, and somewhat unfair, rap.

    I'm not for one second saying he wasn't a poor leader, both militarily and administratively. All I'm saying is that it's somewhat unjustified to simply write him off as a tyrant.

    Remember, the history books were largely written, or commissioned, by those who overthrew him. Even your reference to Phocas forcing Jews to convert to Christianity is based on the fairly dubious testimony of Pseudo-Dionysus of Tel Mahre in the 8th century.

    The problems of history.

    But thank you again for taking the time to listen to the podcast.
     
  13. Black Friar

    Black Friar Well-Known Member

    OOPs, I'm looking forward to the podcast as well. Thanks all.
     
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