I purchased a $10 Byzantine scyphate trachy because the fabric looked decent. One can read some of the letters. I can see the MP which I assume is for (the Blessed Virgin ) MARY and probably the IC XC for Jesus Christ. I can see letters on the outer portion of the flan on the other side but cannot make them out. I am guessing the emperor and his consort inside the writing? I presume the metal is billon as there does appear to be a bit of silver on the surface. I am guessing and 11th Century emperor but that's a s far as I can get. Can anyone pin it down to an emperor and date? Thanks
I know next to nothing about Byzantine coins but I like these. I haven't seen any in person but they look really cool!
I have a couple, but none that show a good inscription Manuel I Comnenus. 1143-1180. BI trachy Constantinople mint. MP-ΘV, the Virgin Mary, enthroned facing, nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium.She holds nimbate head of infant Christ before her / MANOVHΛ ΔECΠOTHC, Manuel standing facing, wearing crown, chlamys and divitision, holding labarum and patriarchal cross on globe. SBV 1964; DOC 12
That may be it. I notice now that the Virgin's inscription is MP for Mother and the theta upsilon "of God"
Yes. Only IX XC will be on coins portraying Christ. This particular type is one of the most common schyphates that come to market.
Do you think the inscription is that of Manuel? Also, I see what looks like a silver plating over a copper core. I had always thought these Byzantine billon coins were just a homogenous low grade silver alloy of a few percent silver but this looks like a plated coin of billon over a copper core. Or is it just corrosion eating away some of alloy?
@David@PCC noted the reverse legend naming Manuel I: MANOVHΛ ΔECΠOTHC (Manuel, Despot = Manuel, Emperor) On the OP coin you can see the "HΛ" at 9:00 - 10:30. By the way, that "H" is a Greek eta (our E) and that Λ is a Greek lambda (our L). You can also see the Δ to the right of his head, but that is not distinguishing, just the first letter of "emperor" (in Greek at this time). Here is one with a remarkably clear name on the reverse. 28 mm. 3.34 grams. Manuel I, 1143-1180 Sear 1964. The type is common. Finding it with a clear strike is not.
I am unsure if these were melted or coated with low amounts of silver, but it is not uncommon to see a wash on coins of this period. I have 2 of Issac II that are actually debased but look very silver in hand, Sear mentions the debasement in his book.
That is a fact! The OP coin and the one by David make an interesting point. To get a perfectly even strike of both sides it was necessary that both dies were carved with the same degree of curve so the two would fit and transfer detail evenly. That was rare. The convex side is clear on the OP coin but the center of the reverse is weak. David's coin favors the reverse at the price of Mary's face. Sometimes the strike team tried to even out the detail by double striking with a small shift of position between the two. On mine above the excessive shift ruined the convex side but did a really nice job on the concave side. From these examples you can see how we get coins of the same type that sell for $1 and others that make $100. Perfection is hard to find.
