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A curious and rather controversial trachion of the Palaiologoi
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<p>[QUOTE="seth77, post: 3864484, member: 56653"]This autumn, quite unexpectedly, a rather wild <i>trachion </i>appeared at an auction from a well-known German dealer:</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1022096[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3">AE24mm, 3.25g, copper stamenon/trachion, Constantinople(?) or Magnesia(?) or Philadelphia(?) mint, cca. 1295-1300 or 1315/1316-1320s(?).</font></p><p><font size="3">MP - ΘV; Half figure of the Virgin orans.</font></p><p><font size="3"> + ANΔ[ΡΟΝΙK] ... П...ΛOVNA...ЄN...; Half-length facing busts of the emperors each holding a trifurcate sceptre, supporting between them a large cross.</font></p><p><font size="3">Sear 2464, DOC 623 Class XX, PCPC 189, LPC 110.</font></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This is a very rare and strange issue, possibly influenced in its design by Western coinage. DOC (p. 154) has the type assigned to the metropolitan mint under the joint rule of Andronikos II and Andronikos III (1325-1328), but other finds coming from Pergamum/Miletos in Asia Minor could hint to an earlier unknown issue under Andronikos II and Michael IX from an Asian mint -- perhaps Magnesia -- from cca. 1295-1300, a discussion raised by <a href="http://glebecoins.net/paleos/Notes/S_2464/s_2464.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://glebecoins.net/paleos/Notes/S_2464/s_2464.html" rel="nofollow">Ross Glanfield</a> in his note about the type.</p><p><br /></p><p>The legend is not really helpful in resolving the identification issue, the few known examples have usually fragmentary legends, as seen on this specimen too. All that is certain is that one of the emperors (and perhaps both) is called Andronikos.</p><p><br /></p><p>On the other hand, a possible assignation to the period around 1315/6 (when Michael IX crowned Andronikos III) or the early 1320s (by Andronikos III, before Andronikos II accepted his accession) might be in the cards, according to Bendall (N. Circ. Apr. 2008, p. 61-2), despite the fact that by the 1320s almost all of Asia Minor had been overrun by the Ottomans.</p><p><br /></p><p>The dimensions of this spec could account for an earlier Andronikos II and Michael IX identification, while the DOC specimen (DOC 623) is smaller and lighter, both characteristics of a later date. Simply put, this spec at 3.25g and over 24mm is too large and heavy for the regular <i>trachea </i>of the 1310s and 1320s. The weight is big even for the mid 1290s, when it should be dating if it's an issue of Andronikos II and Michael IX.</p><p><br /></p><p>Could this be a vital clue in solving the question of the assignment of this issue?</p><p><br /></p><p>The desert patina is an indication of an Asian provenance, although this does not necessarily mean an Asian mint.</p><p><br /></p><p>A specimen in the Despot Collection was advertised, although not pictured, <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=298388" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=298388" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>I know most of our colleagues here on the boards are not really into these late, strange and mostly obscure <i>trachea</i>, but as a fellow numismatist mentioned, this field is one of the last jungles of uncharted material, one that we can help sort out and bring order to.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="seth77, post: 3864484, member: 56653"]This autumn, quite unexpectedly, a rather wild [I]trachion [/I]appeared at an auction from a well-known German dealer: [ATTACH=full]1022096[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3]AE24mm, 3.25g, copper stamenon/trachion, Constantinople(?) or Magnesia(?) or Philadelphia(?) mint, cca. 1295-1300 or 1315/1316-1320s(?). MP - ΘV; Half figure of the Virgin orans. + ANΔ[ΡΟΝΙK] ... П...ΛOVNA...ЄN...; Half-length facing busts of the emperors each holding a trifurcate sceptre, supporting between them a large cross. Sear 2464, DOC 623 Class XX, PCPC 189, LPC 110.[/SIZE] This is a very rare and strange issue, possibly influenced in its design by Western coinage. DOC (p. 154) has the type assigned to the metropolitan mint under the joint rule of Andronikos II and Andronikos III (1325-1328), but other finds coming from Pergamum/Miletos in Asia Minor could hint to an earlier unknown issue under Andronikos II and Michael IX from an Asian mint -- perhaps Magnesia -- from cca. 1295-1300, a discussion raised by [URL='http://glebecoins.net/paleos/Notes/S_2464/s_2464.html']Ross Glanfield[/URL] in his note about the type. The legend is not really helpful in resolving the identification issue, the few known examples have usually fragmentary legends, as seen on this specimen too. All that is certain is that one of the emperors (and perhaps both) is called Andronikos. On the other hand, a possible assignation to the period around 1315/6 (when Michael IX crowned Andronikos III) or the early 1320s (by Andronikos III, before Andronikos II accepted his accession) might be in the cards, according to Bendall (N. Circ. Apr. 2008, p. 61-2), despite the fact that by the 1320s almost all of Asia Minor had been overrun by the Ottomans. The dimensions of this spec could account for an earlier Andronikos II and Michael IX identification, while the DOC specimen (DOC 623) is smaller and lighter, both characteristics of a later date. Simply put, this spec at 3.25g and over 24mm is too large and heavy for the regular [I]trachea [/I]of the 1310s and 1320s. The weight is big even for the mid 1290s, when it should be dating if it's an issue of Andronikos II and Michael IX. Could this be a vital clue in solving the question of the assignment of this issue? The desert patina is an indication of an Asian provenance, although this does not necessarily mean an Asian mint. A specimen in the Despot Collection was advertised, although not pictured, [URL='https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=298388']here[/URL]. I know most of our colleagues here on the boards are not really into these late, strange and mostly obscure [I]trachea[/I], but as a fellow numismatist mentioned, this field is one of the last jungles of uncharted material, one that we can help sort out and bring order to.[/QUOTE]
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A curious and rather controversial trachion of the Palaiologoi
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