Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="BenSi, post: 3243069, member: 95174"]Good questions [USER=96864]@Plumbata[/USER]  they are an obscure part of coin history. They were first minted during the major coin reform of Alexis I Comnenus in 1092. They are the low end of the new coin system , the Hyperpyron, the Aspron Trachy ( aka Trikephalon), Billion Trachy and the tetarteron. In the 1960's a greater focus on the time period of the Comnenus coinage resulted in a ground Breaking Book by Michael Hendy " Coinage and Money in the Byzantine Empire 1081-1261. In that reference he was the first to try and sort out the values of each of these denominations. He later rebuilt upon his work as being the author of the Dumbarton Oakes catalog IV, the one that deals with this time period. The tetarteron of the 1092 reform is actually multiple denominations, The billion Tetarteron ( Minted in Constantinople and the rarest.) The regional coins and the Semi ( half) tetarteron.  The coin was minted by the official empire until its fall to the Latin's in 1203AD. However, the empire in exile and the Latins produced tetartera as well.  The flat produced coins of AE did remain in production until the end of the empire (1453) but they are much lighter and called Follaro and Tornese. The denomination Tetarteron left many riddles that remain unsolved. Value, limited circulation areas and imitations.[/QUOTE]