What a day today... Started a bit nasty as I am having ongoing noise issues with a neighbor, but the arrival of not one, but 2 coins, has certainly brightened up things considerably. The first one was a comfort purchase of a class A2 Byzantine follis which I conveniently presented in @furryfrog02 's recent thread, and the second one was a long planned purchase of a Byzantine cup-shaped coin. I always wanted one of those, as the shape alone is quite unusual. Also it represents a part of history where things had started going downhill for the Byzantine empire (but was nevertheless still quite fascinating). Another characteristic of these coins is that they were debased (mixed with silver) and slowly over the years the amount of gold was reduced to zero as things got progressively worse for the Byzantine economy. Luckily, mine is a relatively early one and it still contains 16 carats of gold. It is a histamenon from the reign of Michael VII Dukas. So why did they make these coins like that? Nobody knows for sure. Many theories have been brought forward and there was an interesting article in Coin Week a few years back where they go into more detail. https://coinweek.com/education/byzantine-coins-become-cup-shaped/ I believe that the most likely explanation is that they simply wanted a way to make sure that the coins did not bend or break easily. Since the transformation of the solidi to the histamenon variety which were wider and thinner, bent coins were a common problem. There were some additional advantages to introducing cup coins like the increased difficulty in making fakes which was quite a bonus. However the one unfortunate characteristic that got stuck to these coins throughout their use was their debasement. Byzantine gold coins used to be the dollars of their day. Their weight and strong purity remained constant for hundreds of years. These debased cup coins did great damage to this reputation and the fact that they even looked different made things even worse. To understand a bit more about how it all got to this, let's have a quick look at the history of Michael VII Dukas and his predecessors. Constantine Monomachos (Wikimedia Commons) The fist debasement started during the reign of Nicephoros II Phokas, but became quite permanent in the times of Constantine IX Monomachos where the gold content was down to 90%. He was a big spender even though he reigned during troubled times with enemies attacking the empire from all sides. He is more known of course as the emperor that ruled during the unfortunate final schism of the Orthodox and Catholic faiths in 1054. Further unfortunate events followed with most prominent the Byzantine defeat at the battle of Manzikert. That was the event that put Michael VII Dukas firmly on the throne. He was born around 1050 to Constantine X Dukas. He could have become sole king at the age of 17 when his father died, but he wasn't interested in politics so his mother became the regent with the aid of John Dukas and later her new husband Romanos IV Diogenes. The defeat to the Turks brought Michael in power, but he was still indifferent to being an effective ruler, relying completely on corrupted ministers and courtiers while he was busy pursuing the good life and his academic interests. The army was also in a mess, and around 1073 the mercenaries revolted and Michael resorted to recognizing the Turkish presence in Asia Minor and even requesting their help. That dealt a huge blow to the economy and the gold content of the histamena coins was now down to 70-75%. This earned Michael the nickname Παραπινακης (minus a quarter) that reflected the devaluation the coins and the dissatisfaction that this caused to the populace. Eventually in 1078 Michael had to resign and retire to a monastery. Quite an excellent fate if you ask me, considering that other emperors of that period weren't that lucky. Michael VII Dukas - Detail from the Hungarian Crown (Wikimedia Commons) Show me your cup-shaped coins, or your devalued or electrum coins in general There is also a question I hope someone can answer. There appears to be some Arab graffiti on the reverse, something which actually is not that unusual for coins of that period. Anyone has any idea of what it says?
..cup shaped gold coins....wow..i still need to get a cup(bronze, for i am truly a 'poor old man')coin..
Terrific example, @Only a Poor Old Man, with a correspondingly informative writeup. ...Would the debasement go any distance toward explaining why scyphates were never adopted in western Europe (besides Norman Sicily, in lower denominations), even while issuing authorities were adopting modules in silver from various parts of the Near and Middle East?
Mine is silver with a touch of gold. Fourree gold is more often over copper but gold adheres better to silver. My only electrum is in the middle. I have seen them with more gold and with less.
P.O.Man, Pictured below is a AV Histamenon Nomisma of Constantine X Ducas, I sold at auction 3 years ago. I bought the coin in 1986 when I had a Coin / Antique shop in Rochester, NY. I was buying scrap gold at the time & tested everything I bought including this Byzantine coin that tested 18K, or .750 fineness. I believe this issue started the first serious debasement of Byzantine coinage. David Sear could offer some expert knowledge on this issue. Byzantine Empire, Constantine X, AD 1059-1067, AV Hist. Nomisma: 4.39 gm, Fineness tested at .750 (18K).
Great coin/ writeup! Three scyphate coins Eastern Chaluykas AV Pagoda Byzantine AV Histamenon Ambiani /Gallic tribal AV Stater
Good question. I imagine it played some role, but probably the main reason was that they never saw the point in it even though some countries did have issues with thin coins. Also, it wasn't an easy method anyway. Is there a testing process that doesn't damage a coin? The methods I have heard off involve either acid on the coin or scratching it to put acid on the scratchings. This sounds like an expensive fourree to produce. They must have done it in large quantities if they hoped for some kind of profit.
P.O. Man, I had purchased a testing kit that consisted of a special fine-grained carborundrum stone, 4 X 2.5 X .375 in., & different dilutions of nitric acid. It was necessary to scrape the edge of the coin on the stone & apply a dilution of nitric acid that didn't change the color of the streak on the stone. The amount of gold lost was infinitesimal, & the coin appeared to be clipped anyway. The coin cost me $100.00 & ended up selling for well over $400.00 .
