A visit to where my Constantinople Byzantine coin was made

I have several Byzantine bronze coins and became curious as to the location of the
Constantinople mint that made them, especially this one of Justinian (AD 527-565)



Justinian AE Follis
Obverse: Diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right
D N IVSTINI-ANVS PP AVG
Reverse: Large letter 'M', star left, cross top, cross right, G under large 'M'
CON in exergue (Constantinople mint)
Struck: AD 527-538
Size: 30mm
Weight: 17.98gm
Catalog: Sear 158

Philip Grierson's book Catalogue of late Roman coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection
(Dumbarton Oaks, 1992) places the Constantinople mint for bronze coins near the "Golden Gate".

In April 2012, I finally able to make a visit to Istanbul, Turkey.

After a busy day wandering around Justinian's Hagia Sophia church and the Sultan Ahmed Blue Mosque,
I was back at my hotel whose lobby had some books about Turkey and Istanbul.

I happened to look at Richard Stoneman's book
Across the Hellespont: A Literary Guide to Turkey (Hutchinson, 1987)
which had a map of Constantinople showing the "Golden Gate" to be in a place
called the "Castle of the Seven Towers", part of the 4th century walls around the city.
The walls were constructed during the reign of Theodosius I or II.
The "Golden Gate" was a location for ceremonial entrances into the city and for holding imperial Triumphs.

The castle is now a Turkish museum named Yedikule (Turkish for "Seven Towers") Museum.

On Tuesday, April 24, 2012, I took the light rail to the Yedikule station,
and walked out Yedikule street to the Yedikule Castle museum.

The street to the museum:



I had the castle to myself for an hour, probably because it is not mentioned in many guide books.
Later a tour bus with some teenagers showed up and they began climbing around on the walls.

A sign describing the castle complex:



The Golden Gate:



The museum entrance and the tour bus group:



Three of the towers, named the Treasure, Dungeon, and Cannon towers:



The trip sure made this coin even more interesting.

 

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I want to visit all the US Mints.... This totally tops that though. :thumb:

 

Wonderful post!

 

Cool, I was wondering where the mint was located inside the city. It would not surprise me if it moved over time, though, since they produced, just in Roman/Byzantine times, enormous amounts of coins for over 1,000 years. That's a long time for a mint to stay in one spot, but of course it could be.

 

Thats pretty cool! Thanks for sharing

 

Very cool, glad you got to see something historical like that. I cant, darn $

Thanks for sharing.

 

After visiting Istanbul and Justinian's great church, the Hagia Sophia,
I had to get a gold coin of Justinian.

This one arrived today:



Justinian - AU Solidus
Obverse: Helmeted and cuirassed bust facing three-quarters to right,
holding spear over shoulder and shield
DN IVSTINI-ANVS PP AVG
Reverse: Angel standing facing, holding jewelled cross and cross on globe,
star in right field
VICTORI - A AVCCC B (Oficina B)
CONOB in exergue (Constantinople mint)
Struck: AD 527-537
Size: 21mm
Weight: 4.43gm
Catalog: Sear 137
Ex. Harlan J. Berk, Chicago

The Constantinople Mint for gold coins was supposedly located in the Great Palace,
which is now gone.



A small museum occupies this place, it was closed while I was there.

 

Cool post Willie, thanks.

Constantinople really is right at the top of my wish list to visit. I have examples of its coinage from ancient Byzantium, Rome, Byzantine, even a few Ottoman pieces. I already told my wife that is our next overseas trip. She is allowing it since I told her about the great bazaar.

I just wish ancients were legal to buy in Turkey.