So this was a huge White Whale for me. A number were sold 12-14 years ago it seems, then they simply went away from the marketplace. This happens frequently in ancient coins, which to me adds to the excitement. This one I just bought from CNG, the first I had seen for sale for a very long time. If anyone else here was an underbidder I apologize, but do know you didn't "almost" win it. I bid many multiples over what I ended paying for it. These come rough, not being struck at all but simply dried clay. however, some look a little nicer, but I was not about to pass on this one not knowing how long I would have to wait to bid on another. This intersects perfectly with three major collecting themes of mine, Sasanian, Byzantine, and early Christian coins. Photos and writeup per CNG: Terra-cotta “True Cross” Pilgrim’s Token. Circa 7th century (17mm, 1.35 g). The cross between Constantine and Helena / Blank. Intact. From the Peter J. Merani Collection, purchased from Spink. The most precious relic preserved by the Byzantine church was the "True Cross", claimed to be the actual cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. Discovered in the 320s during the renovations of the pilgrimage sites in Jerusalem under Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, the Cross had been venerated by generations of pilgrims by the seventh century. In AD 614 the unthinkable occurred. The Persians, in one of their periodic resurgences of military power, invaded the Byzantine East, as the avengers of the deposed and murdered emperor Maurice Tiberius. They reached Jerusalem, besieged and took it, looting and pillaging the pilgrimage sites. As part of their triumph over the unbelieving (non-Zoroastrian) Christians they carried away the Cross to Ctesiphon; its capture was taken by them as a sign of the weakness of Christ against Ahura-Mazda. The Cross remained in Persian hands for fourteen years. Meanwhile the emperor Heraclius, having disposed of the usurper Phocas, whose actions caused the problem, prepared his counterstrokes. In 628 his army, invading from Armenia, defeated and destroyed the Persian military might. Now the tables were turned; the Byzantines recovered what they had lost, with interest. The Cross was returned to its place of honor in Jerusalem. The Cross remained in Jerusalem for a further five centuries. Used as a standard in battle by the Crusaders, it was captured at Hattin in 1187 by the Muslims. Eventually, so the story goes, it was taken to the Great Mosque in Cairo, where it was placed under the entrance so that all the Muslim worshipers walked over it on their way to prayers. Tokens were issued as souvenirs of the celebrations accompanying the return of the Cross to Jerusalem in 630. They are small clay or terra-cotta "medallions", made by pressing a lump of clay into a (probably wooden) mold. It is said that a piece of the wood of the Cross was burned and the ash mixed with the clay; hence the tokens, themselves, became miniature reliquaries. The tokens were produced in two main types. The classic design is the standard True Cross reliquary design: the Cross, with or without base, held by Constantine in imperial robes on the left side and Helena in robes and widow's veil on the right. Two subtypes are known: first, a variety with two Xs, probably intended as stars, above the arms of the cross, and second, with the cross on steps, much like that on the reverses of many Heraclian coins. The second type shows a Greek cross with the letters H N E I in the angles. Exactly what this Greek inscription means is not certain; the most likely reading is hn ei(dos), "behold the appearance (of the Cross)". For those who want to read more about the True Cross, below is the Wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Cross
Congrats to your new pickup. I managed to pickup one long time ago. Need to look for its photo though... To me, the token is a very good conversation piece, with an interesting historical event behind it.
Congrats! I thought about bidding on that one, but decided to focus on the seal from Innocent III. I lost.
Amazing bit of history and even more cool than a coin. Can't imagine all that many have survived to the present day.
Indeed, 'tis true! I bought mine from Gert Boersema on VCoins. It is 17 mm. and weighs 1.45 gr. Regarding the types of these Cross tokens. on page 274 of Mitchiner's book. he establishes 4 sub-types designated as 'a', 'b', 'c', and 'd' as follows: a: "Inscriptional". Letters (H N E I) in the Cross' 4 quadrants; no human figures. b: Three human figures around the Cross. c: Two small human figures at the foot of the Cross. d: Two larger human figures at the foot of the Cross. Examples of 'a': Examples of 'b': Examples of 'c' & 'd': See the two examples posted above in this thread. (IMO it seems the size difference of the human figures as proposed by Mitchiner requires a bit of a subjective determination.)
I got very lucky because a dealer I knew and emailed happened to find a handful and sold me one but you are right...before this auction I can't recall seeing any being sold recently! Congrats!!
Same here. Will share some pictures later if I remember lol ...And to make these even more fun, the token might contain a piece of the true cross...
medoraman, Excellent article & fascinating token ! These tokens must have been important souvenirs/mementos for pilgrims of modest means visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The more "well-to-do" pilgrims either bought or brought with them encolpia that could hold a small sample of earth from the ground where Christ was crucified, like the one pictured below. Byzantine bronze encolpion with Christ on one side & the Virgin Mary on the other side, 9th - 11th century, 3.0 in long.
