Anyone collect Byzantine Empire coins?

Just curious because I'm thinking of going in that direction with my Ancient collection.

I noticed that alot of the gold Solidus coins from 5th & 6th century Byzantine Empire are relatively affordable compared to the older Roman gold Aureus coins which cost a fortune ($5K+).

If anyone has any cool Byzantine Empire coins from the 5th-11th centuries I'd love to see .

 

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calling @panzerman....

 

You must be new here. We have many people who collect Byzantine and a few who specialize in it. I suggest you search past postings for threads on Byzantine that you might find interesting. Meanwhile, here are a few of my favorite Byzantines. I am not a specialist by any means. I might also suggest you not limit yourself to the early Byzantines. Some of the coins from the dying years are interesting, too.
Anastasius, the first Byzantine at least in the numismatic sense


Justinian I reached the peak in terms of size of the follis about the time that the plague was devastating the Empire.


Some of us specialize in coins overstruck on earlier coins and like them 'messy'. This Heraculius/Justin II has legible dates and mint marks. I avoid messes that are just messy without good data. Sometimes it is a good idea to photograph the coins from two angles favoring each of the types that contributed to the final result.


This Justinian II half follis was struck on a quarter of a Constantine IV follis thus doubling its value. It is the plate coin from Sear 1262.


I like fourrees, plated coins. They are commonly on copper cores but this gold piece is plated over silver and a bit unusual.


My most unusual Byzantine is this Anonymous A3 follis struck over an as of Gordian III that was nearly 800 years old at that time.

This 11th century electrum coin is as late as you asked to see and is among the more common gold coins available to those of us on a tight budget.


You did not ask to see but will be shown anyway a silver coin of John VIII, the next to last Byzantine Emperor. His brother Constantine XI issued coins but they are rare to the point that most of us will never own one.


Now it is your turn. Post your Byzantines.

 

Nice! Yeah I am still relatively new to the Ancients forum since I’ve been collecting US coins.

I wanted to originally collect Roman Republic silver & gold coins but they are way too expensive.

So I decided to go with Byzantine Empire.

This is the coin I plan on buying with my stimulus check:


Byzantine Empire AV Solidus Justin II (565-578 AD) MS NGC (S-345)

 

Byzantine coins are a fascinating area to collect, and vast as well. Are you considering putting together a type collection? If so, would it be by ruler and denomination, or simply denomination?

If you are considering a more representative collection by emperor/empress and denomination, then you are looking for a very long term effort, one that is both rewarding and challenging. I've been collecting this series on an on-again, off-again basis since the mid 1980's and I do have major gaps, with some bronze, but the major gaps are with the silver, trachy coinage and especially gold. Gold Byzantine coins have been expensive because of their inherent gold content, but historically not nearly as costly as Roman aurei. That is changing now. Byzantine gold coins seem to be selling at higher hammer prices recently. This trend doesn't affect me since I have always concentrated on the more accessible bronze coinage (I have only a gold histamenon nomisma of Isaac I), but now even prices for even relatively common bronze coins seem to be going up.

When it comes to this coinage, I focus on two factors: historical significance and exceptionally well produced coins. The latter is no easy matter to tackle, especially as one gets beyond the early reform coinage of Justinian I. Workmanship for the bronze coins deteriorates quickly and overstrikes are common beyond the 6th century AD. However, even the over struck coins can be very interesting, especially if one is familiar with the history of the Byzantine Empire and its emperors and empresses.

Here are a few examples that you might have seen before.

Justinian I, reform AE follis, Antioch, year 13, Officina Γ 539/40 AD

22.7 grams




Maurice Tiberius, AE follis, Constantinople, Year 7, Officiana ε, 588/89 AD

11.29 grams





Constantine IV, AE follis, Constantinople, Officina Δ, 668-685 AD

16.41 grams



Basil II and Constantine VIII, "Anonymous" follis, Class A3, c. 1023 - November 11, 1028 AD.

Somewhat unevenly struck.

 

Great question! My original plan was to collect 1 gold solidus from each ruler’s reign.

For example:

1 Gold solidus of Justinian the Great
1 Gold solidus of Justin II
1 Gold solidus of Maurice Tiberius

Etc.,

But then I realized some emperors probably have solidii that cost a fortune (like a Roman Aureus of Caesar’s reign) and I decided I will go with silver coins of those reigns if possible.

I just think it would be cool to have a wide range of gold & silver coins minted from the beginning of the Byzantine Empire right down to the end.

 

You may find that many silver Byzantine coins cost as much as the gold. Overall, they made relatively little use of silver. Gold is fine for people who can afford it but if you are buying plastic boxes with a bit of gold inside, you will need many stimulus checks.

 

Well I mean I plan on getting a little bit over the long term.

Ive seen several Byzantine gold solidii in the $2K price range which isn’t too bad if I pick up 1-2 of them per year.

 

Hi Blake, I would not ignore the Byzantine bronze coins. There are a lot of very large and interesting bronze Byzantines that are not that expensive, like under $50 you can get some really interesting coins. many Byzantine coins are dated and you can tie them to specific events in history which makes them even more interesting.

John

 

Once I hit the wall with Early Dated coins, I thought I would collect
Byzantine bronzes by ruler, date and officina.

 

@Gam3rBlake , did you ever pick up that Daric that you stated you bought?

Would enjoy seeing it in hand!

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/th...ificance-on-sparta.374872/page-2#post-6277625

@Ryro

 

Byzantine coins are fascinating with a great history of different rulers, issues, mint places, coin reformations etc. They cannot be compared with Greek/Roman coins at all in terms of artistry, but they are still quite cool:



You should see which time period interests you the most, in my case I especially like the coins after the post-reform of Alexius I. They are less artistic though compared to the time of Maurice, Justinian etc.

As @Theodosius mentioned, do not forget the bronze coins, they are abundant and interesting. Silver is rare, and gold was used more in the Byzantine times, the Miliaresion was the only common silver coin. Only post-Latin empire the usage of silver increased a lot more (Basilikon, Stavraton, Asper etc.)

 

I love Byzantine history, which is why I have started collecting. I just have two, but I enjoy them immensely!

the are follis of Emperor Maurice and Constans II

 

Although as a rule Byzantine coins lack the diversity as well as the aesthetic quality of engraving found on Greek or earlier Roman coins, an appreciation for and study of them provide a window into a thousand years of history often sadly overlooked and underappreciated in the west.

In general, my interest is more in Byzantine silver than in the other metals. It's been pointed out above by @dougsmit and @Pavlos that silver is actually scarcer than the gold as a rule, but apart from the miliaresia of the middle Byzantine period, it is rarely well struck.

I have a (perverse, according to my classically trained wife) love for the late 14-15th c. stavrata, large silver coins issued by the last rulers of the Palaiologan dynasty. I find them hauntingly beautiful. Here are some of my John VIII examples and 2 Constantine XI fractions.

 

I have a small collection (thus far) of Byzantine bronze folles. I'm going to continue collecting them as I, too, find Byzantine history to be fascinating. Here's one example:

Byzantine Empire
Justinian I 527-565 A.D.
AE Follis
Cyzicus Mint
35.34 mm, 19.61 g.

 

I agree that the silver coins are actually rarer than gold. Here is an example:

Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, with Romanus I and Christopher, 913-959. Miliaresion. Constantine was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, and the nephew of his predecessor Emperor Alexander. He was known as a scholar and the epithet "born in the purple" refers to his birthplace in the Imperial chamber adorned with the purple stone porphyry. Much of his reign was covered by regencies, first under his mother and later under Romanus I.


(AR, 25 mm, 3.15 g, 12 h), Constantinople. IҺSЧS XRISTЧS ҺICA Cross potent set on three steps; below, globe. Rev. +ROmAҺO' / XPISTOFOR' / CЄ COҺSTAҺ' / ЄҺ X'ω ЄVSЄ/b' bASIL' R' in five lines. DOC 18. SB 1754.

 

Byzantine Gold is my favorite gold because where else can you buy a 1,000+ year old gold coin, in mint condition, for peanuts over melt value?

 

Really impressive collection

 

Andronikos II hyperpyron with Michael IX. LBC type 729


Constans II Hexagram