St. Tryphon is rare on coins. He is a third century martyr honored by Roman Catholics and the Orthodox. He is an unmercenary saint in that he healed animals and took no money for it. His body was found in Montenegro where his head still resides in the cathedral at Kotor. The intervening centuries have seen him become the patron of many things including falcons. One of his earliest miracle stories concerns his relics quelling an outbreak of the plague making him a saint for our time. He was martyred at a young age. His image is quite good here as it goes on these often poorly struck trachy from the Empire of Nicea. You can just make out his facial features and the cross he holds in his hands. This was struck by Theodore II Ducas-Lascaris 1254-8 who graces the other side. The empire of Nicea was across from Constantinople in Asia Minor and was where many of the Byzantines fled when the Crusaders established a Latin state in Constantinople in 1204. The other trachy shows his abbreviated name in Greek with a TV (TY) on the left and up and a rho omega to the right (RO).
Thanks for the interesting coin & post, he does sound like the right guy to have around now. I don't have a St. Tryphon so I will add a Roman Republican "Salus": Man. Acilius Glabrio circa 49 BC AR Denarius Obv: SALUTIS Laureate head of Salus right Rev: IIIVIR VALETV M ACILIUS Salus standing left, leaning against column and holding serpent.
Nice write-up, and interesting hard-to-find coin, @Gary Waddingham . Like, @Sulla80 , I do not have this guy. I DO have a Republican Glabrio w Salus, so I will toss another Salus on the coin-pile (gotta be careful not to say plague body pile...) CARTOON SALUS: RI Leo I 457-474 CE AE 4 10mm Salus Emp stdg hldg Globe and Standard Ex: @Blake Davis (MORTOWN) CIVIL WAR SALUS (getting rid of that plague called Nero) RI Civil War VINDEX 68-69 CE AR Denarius 3.22g Gallic mint SALVS GENERIS HVMANI Victory l globe - SPQR in wreath RIC 72 BMCRE 34-36 RSC 420 R Ex: @Valentinian
