Beautiful Byzantines

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by furryfrog02, Dec 28, 2019.

  1. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    John, I believe I'm right on this one, see the link below for a similar solidus from Lanz. I'm certain Anastasius I never struck gold solidi at the Rome mint, so it must be barbarous. BTW, the 1st coin illustrated on that page is in my collection :D.

    http://www.romancoins.info/Ostrogoths.html#theoderich
     
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  3. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

    I love how this thread has turned out :)
     
  4. panzerman

    panzerman Well-Known Member

    Yes you where/ I posted the wrong coin. However, I now posted the NFA Anastasius, back on page 3
     
  5. BenSi

    BenSi Well-Known Member

    c9.jpg View attachment 1044943

    One of each for John II,
    the Hyperpyron,
    electrum trachy,
    trachy,
    Constantinople Tetarteron( Had silver added.),
    Regional Tetarteron ( Minted in Thessalonica),
    Half tetarteron ( Also minted in Thessalonica).

    This gives you a complete Catalog view of the post 1092 coin reform of Alexius I,His son John II kept the same standards as his father. His grandson Manuel started debasing the gold. The system stayed intact after Latin Rule until gold was no longer available, silver became the new standard.

    Imitation coins became abundant in the 13th century.

    Each one of these coins is Beautiful to me.

    **** I edited the photos, I accidently put an Alexius in as the John II trachy , it was fixed. ****
     
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2019
  6. Quant.Geek

    Quant.Geek Well-Known Member

    The Splintered Empire - Empire of Thessalonika

    One of the gems in the splintered empire, next to Trebizond, the coins of John Comnenus-Ducas has a dizzying number of varieties...

    Theodoros Comnenus-Ducas (1224-1230) Æ Trachy, Thessalonica (Sear 2167)
    [​IMG]

    Manuel Comnenus-Ducas (1230-1237) Æ Trachy, Thessalonica (Sear 2180)[/U]
    [​IMG]

    Manuel Comnenus-Ducas (1230-1237) Æ Trachy, Thessalonica (Sear 2177)

    [​IMG]

    John Comnenus-Ducas (1237-1242) BI Trachy, Thessalonica (Sear 2210)

    [​IMG]

    John Comnenus-Ducas (1237-1242) BI Trachy, Thessalonica (Sear 2202)

    [​IMG]

    Anonymous (mid 13th century) BI Trachy, Thessalonica (Sear 2226)

    [​IMG]

    John III Ducas-Vatazes (1222-1254) BI Trachy, Thessalonica (Sear 2131; DOC 11)

    [​IMG]
     
  7. Quant.Geek

    Quant.Geek Well-Known Member

    The Splintered Empire - Empire of Nicaea

    Theodore I Comnenus-Lascaris (1208-1222) Æ Trachy (Sear 2061)
    [​IMG]

    Theodore I Comnenus-Lascaris (1208-1222) BI Trachy, Magnesia (Sear 2067)
    [​IMG]

    John III Ducas-Vatazes (1222-1254) Æ Trachy, Magnesia (Sear 2091)
    [​IMG]

    John III Ducas-Vatazes (1222-1254) Trachy, Thessalonica (Sear 2124)
    [​IMG]

    Theodore II Ducas-Lascaris (1254-1258) AE Trachy, Magnesia (Sear 2142)

    [​IMG]
     
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  8. Valentinian

    Valentinian Well-Known Member

    This thread proves many CT members have excellent Byzantine coins. If you don't know much about Byzantine coins and wonder about them, you can start here at the site "Introduction to Byzantine Coins":

    http://augustuscoins.com/ed/Byz/

    This one is not a beauty but is scarce: Constantine V and Leo IV (751-775), Sear 1556:

    SB1556ConV&LeoIV19103.jpg
    20-16 mm. Constantine V and (his son) Leo IV facing
    Leo III (Constantine's father) facing over large M (weak and encrusted)
     
  9. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

    I agree! I haven't seen many Byzantine coins posted here and thought they were a bit of the black sheep of the ancient family...I'm glad to have been proven wrong!
     
  10. panzerman

    panzerman Well-Known Member

    Byzantine coins are unique/ they start off with high quality/ pure gold content.....ended up with debasement/ crappy looking coinage by Michael VIII to Constantine XI:(
     
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  11. Quant.Geek

    Quant.Geek Well-Known Member

    The Splintered Empire - Empire of Trebizond

    Manuel I Comnenus (1238-1263) AR Asper (Sear 2601; Bendall 20; Retowski 11)
    [​IMG]

    Basil (1332-1340) AR Asper (Sear 2622; Bendall 56)
    [​IMG]

    Alexius III (1349-1390) AR Asper (Sear 2628; Bendall 66; Retowski 1)
    [​IMG]

    Alexius IV (1417-1446) AR Asper (Sear 2641; Bendall 79; Retowski 2)
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2019
  12. Quant.Geek

    Quant.Geek Well-Known Member

    There are still some emperors missing, especially the rarer ones, but I posted a good representation of the coins in the empire that are in my collection. I know several CTers have some emperors I don't have so it would be nice for them to post. Finally, there are other unpublished coins that I have which doesn't have proper attributions, but I'll add that later...
     
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  13. Black Friar

    Black Friar Well-Known Member

    To
    To FurryFrog, we are the black sheep of the ancient family. Wear the badge proudly.
    I don't know of anyone else in my state that collects them and I've been looking since'83. The only one I knew of was and still is a dealer and he has stopped collecting what he sells. The price for fame and glory.

    I have attached two of my most recent acquisitions purchased at a local show for peanuts I'm proud to say...shame on me; I have confessed my many sins.

    The Justin II half follis was struck by a military mint in Italy. I have just started investigating this very interesting series that a chap from Great Britain has written about and has collected for a long time.

    The 1/2 tet is a beauty and for this series is about as good as one can get. I might have posted these earlier on a different thread, possibly the "show me your newest acquisitions." Both were purchased for under $50. I would have paid more.

    Sorry about the over sharpening of the images.

    Happy New Year to all.
     

    Attached Files:

  14. Black Friar

    Black Friar Well-Known Member

    Indeed, a very fun thread. The silver of the empires that arose after
    1204 are quite intriguing. I think there are bargains there. Nice Coins.
     
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  15. Suarez

    Suarez Well-Known Member

    This is what my collections looks like at a glance

    0.jpg

    I'm only 50% of the way there and names like Constantine XI, Alexander and Mezezius pretty much ensure that some cells will never get filled but set collecting wouldn't be fun if completion was easily attainable!

    If anyone wants to make a grid of their own just go to Tantaluscoins.com and get yourself a free account. The software plugs in the coins in their right place automatically. There are profiles for Byzantine and Roman emperors or you can just define your own.

    Rasiel
     
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  16. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

    I purchased 2 Byzantine coins at the Winter Baltimore Whitman show. Both from Harlan J. Berk's "junk pile". One was a fairly easy to identify Maurice Tiberius. The other was a trachy, my first, and was incredibly hard to ID. I wouldn't have been able to do it without @Quant.Geek 's help. I am looking forward to hopefully adding some new ones in 2020.
     
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  17. Voulgaroktonou

    Voulgaroktonou Well-Known Member

    For over 40 years my friends have teased me for my love of Byzantine coins, to which they have given the acronym UBC = “ugly Byzantine coins”. Even my wife, also trained as a Classicist, questions my taste when I wax eloquent over the latest stavraton to arrive in the post. So it's nice to see the appreciation others have for them.

    Here are a few of my favorites. In advance I apologise for some of my photos. Many of them want reshooting. Also, they are not always arranged to scale, so please note the descriptions.
    For all images, proceed from left to right and from top to bottom.



    1. Anastasius I. Constantinople. 512-17. Half follis. 9.62 gr. 24.5 mm. hr. 8. Sear 25A; Hahn 20a (this coin). Ex Vecchi 8, Dec. 4, 1997, lot 401. Published in The Celator, April 1999, “A Pair of holed rarities”. When the weights of the follis and its fractions were doubled in 512, the mint evidently considered that the increased size of the flans would allow for a figural reverse type, here a seated representation of Constantinople holding a globus cruciger. Examples exist for the type on the follis, its half, and quarter, but it evidently did not give satisfaction, and examples are extremely rare today. I will not live long enough (or be able to afford) a follis, should one come on the market, so I will be content with that line from Meatloaf, “Two out of three ain't bad.”

    2. Anastasius I. Constantinople. 512-17. Decanummium. 4.30 gr. 20 mm. hr. 6. Sear 28A; Hahn 21. Triton XV, lot 1573.

    3. Anastasius I. Nicomedia. 512-17. Follis. 16.86 gr. 33.5 mm. hr. 7. Sear 37; Hahn 44. On this very rare issue (the 4th and finest known example) the officina letter under the mark of value has been replaced by a monogram of the emperor's name.

    4. Justinian I. Alexandria, 538-65. 33 nummi. 14.67 gr. 30 mm. hr. 1. Sear 246; Hahn 164. Sternberg 21, lot 551.


    Anastasiusa.jpg



    1. Leontius. Constantinople. 695/6. Follis. 7.65 gr. 28.1 mm. hr. 6. Sear 1334; Hahn 32. Private treaty, ex Protonotarios collection.

    2. Justinian II. Constantinople. 705/11. Follis. 8.08 gr. 30.2 mm. hr. 6. Sear 1426; Hahn 42a.

    3. Justinian II. Constantinople. 705/11. Follis. 4.18 gr. 22.6 mm. hr. 6. Sear 1428; Hahn 43,2 (this coin). Private treaty, ex Protonotarios collection.

    4. Theodosius III. Syracuse. 716/17. Follis. 9.18 gr. 34.2 mm. hr. 7. Sear 1496; Hahn 16. CNG 97, lot 781.

    5. Leo III. Constantinople. 717/20. Follis. 7.22 gr. 25.6 mm. hr. 6. Sear 1513; Hahn 25. Private treaty, ex Protonotarios collection.

    6. Leo III. Constantinople. 717/41. Decanummium. 1.44 gr. 19 mm. hr. 6. Sear 1521; Hahn 28. Berk 847 (this coin). Berk/England Sale Dec. 7, 1989, lot 288.


    Leontios.jpg



    I have little interest in Byzantine gold, but am drawn to better quality bronzes, and have a fondness for the silver of all periods, but especially for that of the Palaeologid period.

    Some African fractional silver.

    1. Justin II. Carthage. 565/78. Half siliqua. 1.11 gr. 17.1 mm. hr. 5. Sear 392; Hahn 32. Spink/Tasei/NAC 51 June 1, 1994, lot 212.

    2. Tiberius II. Carthage. 578/82. Half siliqua. 1.06 gr. 16.4 mm. hr. 6. Sear 464; Hahn 20. Elsen 125, lot 527. This and the next 2 coins carry explicit Christian messages on the reverse. LVX MVNDI = Light of the world.

    3. Maurice Tiberius. Carthage. 582/3. Half siliqua. 0.91 gr. 15 mm. hr. 9. Sear 551; Hahn 57. Bought during my lunch hour from Parthenon Coins, across from the British Museum. SALVS MVNDI = Salvation of the world.

    4. Maurice Tiberius. Carthage. 602. Half siliqua. 0.73 gr. 13.1 mm. hr. 1. Sear 553; Hahn 61. Elsen List 199, lot 404. Alpha and omega flanking a cross.

    5. Theodosius, son of Maurice Tiberius. Carthage. 590/602. 200 nummi. 0.64 gr. 14 mm. hr. 9. Sear 615A; Hahn 62. NAC 95, Oct. 26-7, 1995, lot 807.

    6. Heraclius. Carthage. 610/41. 1/3 siliqua. 0.61 gr. 12.4 mm. hr. 7. Sear 869; Hahn 147. Vecchi 8 Dec. 4, 1997, lot 501.


    African.jpg



    Hexagrams

    1. Heraclius. Constantinople. 636/7. Hexagram. 4.58 gr. 24.3 mm. hr. 7. Sear 801; Hahn 145. CNG E 402, lot 584.

    2. Heraclius. Ravenna. 637/41. Hexagram. 6.58 gr. 23 mm. hr. 6. Sear 903; Hahn 153. CNG E 344, lot 531 (there misattributed to Constantinople). Ravennate hexagrams are very rare. They are distinguished from those of the main mint by style, and by the Latin forms of the letters D, N, and V.

    3. Heraclius. Constantinople. 637/41. Hexagram. 6.58 gr. 23 mm. hr. 6. Sear 803; Hahn 146. CNG E 355, lot 668.

    4. Constans II. Constantinople. 647/51. Hexagram. 6.48 gr. 27.1 mm. hr. 6. Sear 991; Hahn 144.

    5. Constantine IV. Constantinople. 674/81. Hexagram. 6.54 gr. 24.9 mm. hr. 7. Sear 1170; Hahn 67.

    6. Justinian II. Constantinople. 692/95. Hexagram. 6.43 gr. 24.5 mm. hr. 6. Sear 1259; Hahn 40. CNG E 445, lot 524.


    Heraclius.jpg



    Ceremonial Silver, 7th century. These extremely rare coins are known for most issues and reigns of the 7th century, but in very small numbers. A few have been trickling on the market lately. They resemble the much more common hexagrams, but their weights are less well modulated (although these too vary among the hexagrams) and if possible, they are even more carelessly struck than the hexagram series. They also bear on the reverse 2 palm branches in place of the Deus adiuta Romanis inscription.

    1. Phocas. Constantinople. 602/7. Siliqua. 1.21 gr. 18.9 mm. hr. 7. Sear 638A; Hahn 54. CNG E 437, lot 529.

    2. Heraclius. Constantinople. 615/25. Miliarense. 4.34 gr. 22 mm. hr. 6. Sear 789; Hahn 129. CNG E 458, lot 590.

    3. Heraclius. Constantinople. 638/41. Miliarense. 3.78 gr. 20 mm. hr. 6. Sear 791; Hahn 131. CNG E 458, lot 594.

    4. Heraclius. Constantinople. 625/29. Siliqua. 2.20 gr. 20.2 mm. hr. 7. Sear 793; Hahn 133 var.

    5. Constantine IV. Constantinople. 674/85. Miliarense. 4.42 gr. 21.3 mm. hr. 6. Sear 1165; Hahn 61. CNG 106, lot 876.

    6. Anastasius II. Constantinople. 713/15. ½ siliqua. 0.78 gr. 14.6 mm. hr. 7. Sear - ; Hahn -; DO- (but since acquired). The attribution of this coin is based upon another example in NAC 23, Mar. 19, 2002, lot 1740.


    Ceremonial.jpg


    The thin, broad miliaresion of the middle Byzantine period was patterned after the Arab dirhem and was first struck under Leo III. Although the denomination initially had a ceremonial purpose, being struck on the occasion of associating a junior colleague with the reigning Augustus, it served as an important part of the monetary system for the next 3 centuries. The obverse bears an inscription in 5 or 6 lines naming the emperor and colleagues, often qualified with one or more epithets, and terminating in the word “basileus” = “emperor”, or its plural. After Michael I was forced to recognize the imperial claims of Charlemagne in 811, the word “Romaion” = “of the Romans” was added to the inscription. While the ruler of the west might be called an emperor, only the basileus in Constantinople could call himself “emperor of the Romans”.



    1. Artavasdus. Constantinople. 742/3. Miliaresion. 1.73 gr. 20.9 mm. hr. 11. Sear 1545; DO 6. Elsen 125, lot 742. [The obv. and rev. are switched in my photo. The side with the 6 line inscription is the obverse.]

    2. Theophilus. Constantinople. 830/8. Miliaresion. 3.28 gr. 28.5 mm. hr. 11. Sear 1661; DO 10.

    3. Michael III. Constantinople. 866/7. Miliaresion. 2.23 gr. 23.5 mm. hr. 12. Sear 1672; DO 7. CNG 51, lot 1677.

    4. Constantine VII. Constantinople. 914/21. Miliaresion. 3.13 gr. 25.7 mm. hr. 12. Sear 1752; DO 16.

    5. Romanus I. Constantinople. 931/44. Miliaresion. 2.87 gr. 23.5 mm. hr. 1. Sear 1755; DO 20.


    Miliaresia.jpg



    Silver of the Palaeologids.

    1. John V. Constantinople. 1379/91. Stavraton. 8.03 gr. 25.5 mm. hr. 6. Sear 2510; DO 1266-67.

    2. Manuel II. Constantinople. 1391/95. Stavraton. 7.94 gr. 25.3 mm. hr. 4. Sear 2548; DO 1308-9.

    3. Manuel II. Constantinople. 1391/95. Half Stavraton. 3.43 gr. 20.5 mm. hr. 7. Sear 2550; DO 1312. LHS Numismatics AG 97 (Despot Sale) May 10, 2006, lot 353.

    4. John VIII. Constantinople. 1425/48. Stavraton. 7.09 gr. 25 mm. hr. 12. Sear 2564; DO 1636-8 var. Ed Gans Feb. 4, 1955.

    5. Constantine XI. Constantinople. 1449/53. Eighth Stavraton. 0.63 gr. 12.7 mm. hr. 11. Sear -; DO 1789. Bendall, “The coinage of Constantine XI” (Revue Numismatique 1991, pp. 134-142), #110 (this coin).

    6. Constantine XI. Constantinople. 1449/53. Eighth Stavraton. 0.63 gr. 13 mm. hr. 12. Sear -; DO 1789. Bendall, “The coinage of Constantine XI” (Revue Numismatique 1991, pp. 134-142), #129 (this coin).


    Stavraton.jpg
     
  18. David@PCC

    David@PCC allcoinage.com

    Don't have much to add other than maybe this one.
    b285_a.jpg
    John IV
    Mint: Trebizond
    1446 to 1458 AD
    AR Asper
    Obvs: Λ in circle. St. Eugene on horseback right nimbate, holding cross-scepter. In upper field right ИH.
    Revs: John on horseback right wearing stemma with pendilia and loros, holding trefoil scepter. beneath horse. B to right of horse.
    13x14mm, 0.54g
    Sear 2642; Retowski 2
     
  19. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    I always enjoy browsing thru this link & have passed it on to others :D.
     
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  20. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    What a great example of a currency that has finally hit bottom aesthetically :eek:.
     
  21. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    Byzantine is a rare area where the rarities might be found in a junkbox selling for a fraction of the price of one of the most common types. When a VG is better than average, the type only is recognized by specialists. This gets no better when we add the question of overstrikes.
     
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