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The trouble with t̶r̶i̶b̶b̶l̶e̶s̶ trachys
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<p>[QUOTE="Quant.Geek, post: 2946822, member: 74799"]Collecting Byzantine trachys is quite challenging (Byzantine coins, in general, is an acquired taste). The condition of most of these coins are poor with missing legends, ragged and split edges, multiple strikes, and due to the concave nature of the flan, missing features in the strike. Sometimes you end up with a very skinny Virgin Mary or a two-headed Christ. To add insult to injury, they are damn hard to photograph due to its awkward shape.</p><p><br /></p><p>According to Simon Bendall, these coins were struck twice, once on the left and then on the right. His theory was that if the lower die had greater curvature than the upper die, then the middle of the coin would be fully struck with weak or blank sides. The opposite occurs if the upper die had greater curvature than the lower die. The edges would be fully struck and the center would be weak or blank.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.coinweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/425_fig5.gif" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>This can be observed in the following trachy that has a very skinny Virgin. The rocking motion of the strike resulted in the obverse to be a bit constricted:</p><p><br /></p><p><b> Byzantine Empire: Andronicus I Commenos (1183-1185) Trachy, Constantinople (Sear-1985) </b></p><p><br /></p><p>Obv: MP - ΘV. The Theotokos (Virgin Mary) standing facing on dais, holding bust of the infant Christ.</p><p>Rev: ANΔPONIKOC ΔECΠOTHC / IC - XC. Andronicus standing facing, holding labarum and globus cruciger, being crowned by Christ to right, holding Gospels</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/36484/normal_Sear-1985.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>This particular coin resulted in a double-headed St. Michael due to an over-shifting in the middle:</p><p><br /></p><p><b> Byzantine Empire: Michael VIII Palaeologos (1261-1282) Æ Trachy, Constantinople Mint (Sear-2268; PCPC-29; LBC 527-28; Bendall-Donald C.11) </b></p><p><br /></p><p>Obv: X/M to right; Half-length figure of St. Michael, beardless and nimbate, wearing divitision, collar-piece and loros; right hand holds trilobate scepter resting over shoulder; left hand holds globus</p><p>Rev: X/M to left; Full-length figure of emperor on left, and of St. Demetrius (?), beardless and nimbate; between them labarum on long shaft, that ends to three steps. Emperor wears stemma, divitision, collar-piece and jeweled loros of simplified type; right hand holds cruciform scepter. Saint wears tunic, breastplate and sagion</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/36484/normal_Sear-2268%282%29.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Either way, the iconography that is present on some of these coins rival those of other Byzantine coins. I have been slowly building up a collection of trachys lately and thought it would be nice to run a thread and see other collectors trachys. It might be fun to check out those ragged pieces of art. So, here is one from my collection that I just purchased. It is an upgrade to an earlier one I posted before. With trachys, it always a constant upgrade game, if you can find one better...</p><p><br /></p><p><b> Byzantine Empire: Michael VIII Palaeologos (1261-1282) Æ Trachy, Constantinople (Sear 2283; Bendall-Donald C.23; PCPC 2) </b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>Obv: <i>X/M</i> to left or <i>X/A/P/Γ</i> to left and <i>X/M</i> to right or variation; Full-length figure of St. Michael, beardless and nimbate, wearing runic, breastplate and sagion; right hand holds spear; left hand rests on shield</p><p>Rev: <i>Χ/ΜΙ/ΔЄ/CΠ/Ο/Τ/S</i> to left, <i>Ο/ΠΑ/Λ/Є/O/Λ/O/Γ/S</i> to right, or variation; Full-length figure of emperor wearing stemma, divitision, jeweled loros of simplified type and sagion; right hand holds labarum-headed scepter; left hand holds anexikakia</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/36484/normal_Sear-2283%283%29.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/36484/normal_Sear-2283%282%29.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>So, go ahead, and post your bad boys!![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Quant.Geek, post: 2946822, member: 74799"]Collecting Byzantine trachys is quite challenging (Byzantine coins, in general, is an acquired taste). The condition of most of these coins are poor with missing legends, ragged and split edges, multiple strikes, and due to the concave nature of the flan, missing features in the strike. Sometimes you end up with a very skinny Virgin Mary or a two-headed Christ. To add insult to injury, they are damn hard to photograph due to its awkward shape. According to Simon Bendall, these coins were struck twice, once on the left and then on the right. His theory was that if the lower die had greater curvature than the upper die, then the middle of the coin would be fully struck with weak or blank sides. The opposite occurs if the upper die had greater curvature than the lower die. The edges would be fully struck and the center would be weak or blank. [IMG]https://www.coinweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/425_fig5.gif[/IMG] This can be observed in the following trachy that has a very skinny Virgin. The rocking motion of the strike resulted in the obverse to be a bit constricted: [B] Byzantine Empire: Andronicus I Commenos (1183-1185) Trachy, Constantinople (Sear-1985) [/B] Obv: MP - ΘV. The Theotokos (Virgin Mary) standing facing on dais, holding bust of the infant Christ. Rev: ANΔPONIKOC ΔECΠOTHC / IC - XC. Andronicus standing facing, holding labarum and globus cruciger, being crowned by Christ to right, holding Gospels [IMG]http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/36484/normal_Sear-1985.jpg[/IMG] This particular coin resulted in a double-headed St. Michael due to an over-shifting in the middle: [B] Byzantine Empire: Michael VIII Palaeologos (1261-1282) Æ Trachy, Constantinople Mint (Sear-2268; PCPC-29; LBC 527-28; Bendall-Donald C.11) [/B] Obv: X/M to right; Half-length figure of St. Michael, beardless and nimbate, wearing divitision, collar-piece and loros; right hand holds trilobate scepter resting over shoulder; left hand holds globus Rev: X/M to left; Full-length figure of emperor on left, and of St. Demetrius (?), beardless and nimbate; between them labarum on long shaft, that ends to three steps. Emperor wears stemma, divitision, collar-piece and jeweled loros of simplified type; right hand holds cruciform scepter. Saint wears tunic, breastplate and sagion [IMG]http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/36484/normal_Sear-2268%282%29.jpg[/IMG] Either way, the iconography that is present on some of these coins rival those of other Byzantine coins. I have been slowly building up a collection of trachys lately and thought it would be nice to run a thread and see other collectors trachys. It might be fun to check out those ragged pieces of art. So, here is one from my collection that I just purchased. It is an upgrade to an earlier one I posted before. With trachys, it always a constant upgrade game, if you can find one better... [B] Byzantine Empire: Michael VIII Palaeologos (1261-1282) Æ Trachy, Constantinople (Sear 2283; Bendall-Donald C.23; PCPC 2) [/B] Obv: [I]X/M[/I] to left or [I]X/A/P/Γ[/I] to left and [I]X/M[/I] to right or variation; Full-length figure of St. Michael, beardless and nimbate, wearing runic, breastplate and sagion; right hand holds spear; left hand rests on shield Rev: [I]Χ/ΜΙ/ΔЄ/CΠ/Ο/Τ/S[/I] to left, [I]Ο/ΠΑ/Λ/Є/O/Λ/O/Γ/S[/I] to right, or variation; Full-length figure of emperor wearing stemma, divitision, jeweled loros of simplified type and sagion; right hand holds labarum-headed scepter; left hand holds anexikakia [IMG]http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/36484/normal_Sear-2283%283%29.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/36484/normal_Sear-2283%282%29.jpg[/IMG] So, go ahead, and post your bad boys!![/QUOTE]
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The trouble with t̶r̶i̶b̶b̶l̶e̶s̶ trachys
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