Any ideas what this is? Late bronze coin with cross in wreath on the reverse

Hi all!

I saw this on eBay in an unresearched lot, and am just curious as to what it might be - I don't plan to bid on it (unless it's something special)

The obverse legend is throwing me off, as it appears to start with a B, of which I don't know any emperors of that era (apart from Basiliscus), although it can't be that, as the reverse doesn't match (it appears to be a cross in a wreath, with a legend surrounding it).

Any ideas?



Thanks!

 

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It's a coin from Axum ca. 350-70

 

You'd better pass this coin. Condition below zero. Personal advice..

 

@seth77 is correct, the coin is from the Kingdom of Axum, which was located in what is now Ethiopia and Eritrea. The inscription on both sides is in Greek. Here's a similar type (though not an exact match) from my collection:

 

@7Calbrey is right. The earlier issues have double borders; later ones may be imitations, possibly by the early Christian kingdoms of the upper Nile (cf. Munro-Hay p. 142). Between that and the condition, this is nothing to write home about.

 

The coin of @Parthicus is acceptable and identifiable. Now I think it's a rare coin of historical importance. The Axum Kingdom in Africa ( Ethiopia) during the Roman Empire. Was it one of the early first Christian kingdoms ?

 

You guessed right. Several people here have posted very informative threads on the Axumite /Aksumite series; if you were curious, it might be worth a search. ...Except that the orthographic variants are both used by academic historians. I prefer 'Aksumite' only because it's the one used by Munro-Hay, who wrote the best reference extant on the numismatics, along with making significant contributions to the history and archeology.

 

Hi all,

I found “Aksum An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity” by Stuart Munro-Hay online at https://www.livingston.org/cms/lib4/NJ01000562/Centricity/Domain/602/aksum.pdf

- Broucheion

 

Bravo, @Broucheion! That one effectively hasn't been replaced. Two slightly later ones which complement it (with, for instance, relatively minor variations in regnal chronologies), are both by David W. Phillipson. Ancient Ethiopia (BM, 1998), and Foundations of an African Civilisation: Aksum & the Northern Horn, 1000 BC -AD 1300 (Addis Ababa University, 2012 /paper 2014). Naturally, Munro-Hay's book goes into some depth with the coins; so does the first one by Phillipson.