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Message:: [QUOTE="Valentinian, post: 2584857, member: 44316"]Perhaps the most famous Byzantine emperor is Justinian, 527-565 AD. An ancient author, Procopius wrote two books about him that are still extant "History of the Wars of Justinian" and "Secret History" which provide more than enough gossip about Justinian and his wife Theodora to entertain the reader. There are, of course, modern biographies too. Among other things, Justinian reconquered parts of North Africa from the Vandals and reinstituted Byzantine coinage at Carthage after it was retaken in 533/4. The coin reform of year 12 which produced the huge coins at Constantinople and nearby mints did not reach Carthage until year 13. Here is an example of the first issue that I just got from the recent Naumann auction. The first reform issue at Carthage was of year XIII and had mintmark KAR and officina "SO" ("Sole officina"(?) according to Grierson) and lasted only one year, after which the mint was indicated by "CAR" (instead of "KAR") and the officina mark became "S").    Here is the seller's photo:[ATTACH=full]561779[/ATTACH] It is 41-38 mm, very large. (I don't know why their reverse image was smaller than the obverse image.) The photo captures the lovely surface very well.Note the horseman spearing horizontal foe on the shield. Carthage mint. Year 13 = 539/540 AD.Sear 260. DO I 291, plate XLIII. BN plate XVIII "AE/20".Hahn MIBE 194.  Grierson --. One thing to like about Byzantine AE is that you can find interesting coins that compare well to museum and published coins.  Byzantine AE is often in lousy condition. After you get used to that, you can enjoy a coin for its historical interest and relative attractiveness. In this case, even the major published books do not have a preferable specimen.[/QUOTE]

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