Byzantine Cyprus

The island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean Sea hosted a Byzantine mint (probably at the city of Constantina) for three years under emperor Heraclius, 610-641. All the coins are dated years 17, 18, or 19.



30-21 mm. 4.72 grams. Remarkably large for the type.
Heraclius
Three standing figures facing, each holding a long cross. Heraclius (in the middle), Heraclius Constantine (his son), and Martina (his wife).

Large M, ANNO to left, XuII (for year17 = AD 627/8) to the right
KYΠPI (for "Cyrpus") in exergue.
Sear 849.
Grierson 432-433.
DOC 2.1 Heraclius 184, plate XVII.

The mint is unusual but the type is common. It must have been minted in large numbers.

Wikipedia says, "In the Roman era, copper was mined principally on Cyprus, the origin of the name of the metal, from aes сyprium (metal of Cyprus), later corrupted to сuprum (Latin). Coper (Old English) and copper were derived from this, the later spelling first used around 1530."

That might explain why Heraclius established a mint there (but it does not explain why it was not established earlier or closed so soon).

Heraclius was emperor when the Arabs conquered the east coast of the Mediterranean in the 630s, opposite Cyprus. Some "Arab-Byantine" coins imitate this type. Many very similar coins, but smaller and cruder, are found there and may be originals or may be "Arab-Byzantine" imitations.

Later the type was imitated with modifictations:



23 mm. 4.35 grams. Mint of Tiberias, struck 660-680,
Foss Arab-Byzantine Coins 81.
You can read the name of the city beginning at 10:30 and going counterclockwise:
THBERIAΔO

Show us anything relevant.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Nothing relevant to add, but the Tiberias coin is exceptional.

 

Constantinople

 

Here's one from just over the pond at Thessaloniki. This one is overstruck on a Phocas follis.

Heraclius & Heraclius Constantine
AE Follis

617 - 618 A.D., Thessaloniki Mint, 2nd Officina
9.69g, 33.0mm, 6H

Obverse: DN hERACLIЧS P P AVG,
Crowned and draped facing busts of Heraclius and Heraclius Constantine, each holding globus cruciger, cross between

Reverse: -,
Large M between A/N/N/O and ЧI/II (R.Y. 8), cross above, B below

Exergue: ΘЄC

Provenance: Ex. Savoca 5th Blue Auction, Lot 1622

Reference: SBCV 824

 

Very nice

 

Severl books I have read have mentioned the old copper mines in Cyprus making it a great place for a mint. In the 12th century Isaac Comnenus of Cyprus minted his coins there. He was not the Emperor but a Usurper who had gained control of the island from the Byzantine empire during Andronicus rule.

ISAAC COMNENUS OF CYPRUS AG TETARTERON S-1998 DOC 610 CLBC 6.3.6A

OBV Christ Emmanuel, beardless and nimbate, wearing tunic and kolobion, seated upon throne with back; r hand raised in benediction holds scroll in l. Pellet in each limb of nimbus cross.

REV Full length figure of emperor on l. crowned by virgin nimbate. Emperor wears stemma, divitision, collar piece, and jeweled loros of simplified type; holds in r hand scepter cruciger and in l. anexikakia. Virgin wears tunic and maphorion.

Size 18.5/20mm

Weight 4.2

This issues in Cyprus have a small amount of silver in them 1.5% make them more related to the Metropolitan issue of the empire. This issue is heavier than normal, Isaac is wearing a sash at waist.

DOC list 4 examples with a weight of 2.81 to 2.84 and sized at 19mm to 21mm

Really a nice example, all detail is still there , some wear but beautiful example.

As for other coins , there are several lesser seen Alexius tetartera that might have very well been minted there. The reason to suspect them from t is they are normally acquired from Cyprus dealers. Also the shortage of the metal was noted during the reign of Alexius I, so if the mines still had active veins they very well could have been minted and struck in Cyprus.



ALEXIUS TETARTERON S-1933 DOC43 CLBC 2.4.9
OBV Full Length figure of Christ bearded and nimbate wearing tunic and kolobion; holds Gospels in l. hand.

REV Full length figure of Emperor wearing stemma, divitision, and wearing jeweled loros of simplified type; holds in r hand labarum on long shaft and in l. gl.cr.

Size 21.94

Weight 3.6

This coin and S-1934 I believe were minted in Cyprus, these coins were once very rare but recently they have been hitting the market much more frequently. Most of these offerings are coming from Cyprus dealers.

This coin has a beautiful deep green Patina that hinders its photo. One of my nicest examples.

DOC Lists 1 example not in their collection. Weight 2.44gm and size 18mm

 

Valentinian or other if you have knowledge, I have an issue.

Are you sure that your coin was minted in the Byzantine Empire and not in the Rashidun Caliphate or Umayyad Caliphate?

Do you think mine are Byzantines or Arabs?:







The first one is listed in David Sear as Sear reference nr 849 from Cyprus. But some have told me that this might be Arab minted.

The latter one has even two crosses.

Byzantine? Or Arab? I am not expecting an conclusive answer to this, but if you have a strong opinion I want it. Thanks.

 

The second one hits me as being likelier Arab-Byzantine, on the basis of the style of the obverse. Regarding the top one, from here, that's looking likelier, of the two, to be reducible to sloppy engraving and minting by Byzantines. An unofficial issue, within the confines of the empire, mmmMight be a third possibility....
But, No, the first thing the second one says to me is 'substantive stylistic variation,' rather than mere crudity within an existing (Byzantine) stylistic canon.

 

Nice coins. Here is one I just started working on. It looks similar to these.

 

If you were wanting to do this yourself, it's like, wish I could give you a spoiler alert. In the absence of which, Sorry.
...Just not enough. This is a Class B anonymous follis, of Romanus III, 1028-1034, Sear (Byzantine) 1823. The link is to Wildwinds, a very user-friendly website for Byzantines, apart from serious rarities.
http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/byz/anonymous/t.html

 

No problem. I had an idea that it was Byzantine but no idea how to find it. I just started a batch of 20 uncleaned today. They are still crusty, but I think there are at least 2 more Byzantines in the batch. Thanks for the help.

 

Thanks for that. And congratulations on your intrepitude in doing uncleaned coins! Those, and even group lots more generally, have always scared me. People like you have been helping a lot, just lately, toward opening my eyes to their potential.

 

I have cleaned, identified and put up more than 100 in the last two years. That was my target. But, it is just like those potato chips, you can't stop.

 

Very cool. I don't have any Cyprus coins, but I did visit the island once. Amazingly warm water. Highly recommended.

 

...Oh, No, another addiction! All I need.... :<}

 

That is always a question with these. I think mine, the OP coin, is official. The lettering is too good for an Arabic imitation. I think your first coin is likely Byzantine. The faces are good and the flan fabric is like the official pieces. The second coin is completely different. It is much more like a Constans II, many of which are rounder but with terrible strikes and in terrible condition. It is difficult to draw the line between official and unofficial Constans II types.



Here is an example of Sear 1001 for Constans II. Note the nearly round flan, the uncial m and the single figure with two crosses, one long and the other a globus cruciger held in the hand. The are very many unofficial coins that look like types of Constans II. They are not easy to distinguish.

 

My avatar is shown in Wildwinds as contributed by me. It is RIC VII Cyzicus 113. That furthered my addiction when Dane gave me recognition.
Constantius II, AE follis, Cyzicus. AD 335-336.

FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS, two soldiers holding spears and shields with two standards between them.
Mintmark star SMKA.

RIC VII Cyzicus 113 var (officina); notinric 7cyz113.
Rated R4.

Contributed by David Zachmeyer, Feb. 2020

 

Interesting coin. I have never been to Cyprus but the island is keenly visible on flights from Europe to Cairo.

 

There are numerous Arab-Byzantine variants of this type. Here is my original:



and the imitations:

 

The flans of the first two have very similar manufacture which seems to be the way official flans were made. (The OP coin has that type of flan, too.) The other two have flans made some other way. The second coin has a blundered legend, but isn't that par for the course? There is no easy way to draw the line between "official" from "unofficial" coins of these types, but I'd be inclined to put both the first two on the official side.