Preview
Creation Date
1042–1055
Geography
Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkiye)
Culture
Byzantine
Medium
Gold
Dimensions
28 mm
0.15 oz. (4.34 g)
Credit Line
Bequest of David P. Harris ('46), 2020
Accession Number
2020.454.4
Condition
As of 10/25/24: The coin is concave. The gold has remained very shiny with little dulling from cleaning or handling. Similarly, the images on both sides of the coin are very clear, particularly the details of the emperor's costume on the obverse. The features of Christ's face are also impressively readable. The letter inscriptions on both sides are legible. There is a small dent at the very top edge of the reverse, which has also slightly oxidized to a darker color.
References
Grierson, Philip. 1973. Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection, vol. 3, Leo III to Nicephorus III, 717–1081. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, no. 3, p. 740.
Description
The obverse of this histamenon depicts a front-facing bust of Christ as the Pantocrator. Christ is bearded and haloed by a cruciform halo with crescents in its two upper quadrants. Christ wears a tunic and himation (Greek wrap.) His right hand is raised in blessing within the sling of his cloak, while his left hand holds a book to his breast. The whole image is surrounded by a triple border of dots.
The reverse of this histamenon depicts a front-facing bust of Constantine IX Monomachos. He is bearded and wearing a crown topped with a cross and pendilia (gemmed pendants that hang by the ears). The emperor also wears a loros, a garment typically worn for major imperial ceremonies. In this instance, it appears in the simplified numismatic type, meaning it consists of a band that drapes over the shoulders and down the back of the emperor, rather than a garment that wraps around the figure’s entire body. The loros has a separate collar-piece that goes around the emperor's neck. In his right hand, the emperor holds a hand scepter topped by a cross, and in his left hand he holds a globus cruciger. The whole image is surrounded by a triple border of dots.
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