One of the most interesting parts of collecting post 1100 Byzantine coinage is it is a really a lightly touched field. The first book that put everything together was written by Michael Hendy in 1969, before his book the field was jumble of information , catalogs written were extremely basic and any information was very limited. One of the reasons I focused on this area is because it needed more people to try to put it all back together. The main two fields of Ancient coins had been focused on for years, Roman and Greek, adding new information to those fields is a rare occurrence. Not with late Byzantine coins, new types , new variations do happen on a regular basis. For me this has been challenging but fun too. Now in regards to your theory on the coin I must say that I have found sometimes dealer's descriptions of coins are not necessarily true but they are the most interesting story that helps with the sale. This might be the case with the Peter/Mankaphas story. I do not know. A great example of this was the Richard the Lionheart tetarteron that gets big bucks in the market place. That coin was original attributed to Manuel I and Baldwin III having a meeting in Antioch in 1159 or a coin of Alexius II ( No coins known ) but in 2002 Simon Bendall published the coin as maybe being minted in 1191 by Richard the Lionheart after he defeated Isaac I Usurper of Cyprus. All three theory's have no contemporary written conformation ( I Know of ) , all of the theories are based off of site finds, I don't think any of these theories will ever be proven true until written information or a hoard is found with the coin in it. Dealers site the Richard Story because they believe it to be true or because it is the most interesting? I am holding off on getting one because I think they are coming to market to frequently to sustain the current market price. When I do get it, until I am convinced one way or another I will put it with my Isaac usurper of Cyprus collection because I too like a good story to go with my coins.
This was really a great explanation QG , it has helped me a lot. How about coins with just one character, What are the best tips for determining Bulgarian or official mint?
The style of that coin is so odd. I would have written it off as a fake if I didn’t respect the person who posted it.
I’ve been trying to get into later Byzantines for the longest time, but those cup coins are so difficult to identify between the flawed flans, illegible descriptions, and repetitive designs. I have no clue how you guys manage to id these.
Another post is definitely in the works, but I just started teaching this semester (in addition to my day job that takes up a lot of time already). When I find the time, I'll post the other two types, which are more difficult to identify...
