Big Trouble, Small Modules - Sear 2180 Despot Manuel - Sear 2161 Theodore I Lascaris - Trachys

Another day, another trachy...I recently received some trachys from a group lot I won which brings me to the topic of this thread. Three of the coins from that lot were small modules...despite their diminutive stature, these often pose the largest problem for me when IDing coins. The obverse is almost always dead and the reverse usually doesn't have many details...

Three small module trachys from the lot:

Small module trachys are counterparts to large module trachys, often weighing below a gram compared to their 2-3 gram larger brethren. Small module trachys served to facilitate every day trade and serve as a "petty" currency. These coins were both struck in their small class and found as clipped down from large module examples.

Small Module Sear 2180:
This small module trachy shows two figures holding a Patriarchal Cross between their half length figures. The obverse is a cull. Of importance is that the right figure (along with the left) is wearing imperial regalia, ruling out the more common Theodore I Lascaris Patriarchal Cross types. This type shows Thessalonican Despot Manuel I Comnenus Ducas crowned by St. Constantine dressed in imperial clothing, each holding a palm frond to the side. I haven't seen any sear 2180 small module coins before. Its hard to tell if this coin was minted as such or clipped down. I have included a comparison photo with my regular sear 2180. Based on the difference of the die size, however, I would wager to say it was minted a small module. LBC includes one small module example. Thoughts on this coin?





Small Module Sear 2161:
This small module coin is of Nicaean emperor Theodore I Lascaris. This trachy was easier to identify with Theodore's charming face surviving alongside some torso details. St Theodore did not fare as well but his slick afro-hairdo is still present. These two elements allowed for speedier IDing. The obverse is a cull. This trachy looks to be a large module example which has been clipped down. See the comparison photo with a regular sear 2161 type. Die size is comparable even though flan size is quite different.


Small Module Sear ? :
This small module has given the most trouble out of any coin in the group lot. The obverse is a cull and the reverse shows an almost full length emperor holding the Labarum and Anexikakia. There is a partial legend surviving on the left side of the reverse. Its hard to make out but looks like CΠOT, a fragment of ΔECΠOTIC - (Ruler's Name), which translate to Despot (Ruler's Name). The placement of Despot at the beginning of the obverse legend would indicate this is not a Latin type, but either of John III Vatazes (Nicaea), John III Vatazes (Thessalonica), Theodore I Comnenus Ducas (Thessalonica), Manuel I Comnenus Ducas (Thessalonica), and John I Comnenus Ducas (Thessalonica). John III Vatazes (Nicaea), Theodore CD, and Manuel CD can be eliminated because they did not issue any matching trachys type with the legend ΔECΠOTIC in correct placement and the emperor alone on the reverse holding the Labarum and Anexikakia. John III Vatazes did issue a trachy with all of these elements at the mint of Thessalonica (sear 2126) but can be dismissed on stylistic grounds.
This would leave John CD for the ID. The coins portrait has no beard (at least which is discernable in the condition) and John CD was the only emperor to style himself without a beard on his coinage. Process of elimination would leave the trachy as one of his types, sear 2214. All of this hinges on the reading of CΠOT in the legend as being correct but presuming it does indeed read as such, I am somewhat confident that this is sear 2214 by process of elimination.

You can better make out the face here:

Sear 2214 example from Gorny & Mosch: