Preview
Creation Date
963–969
Geography
Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey)
Culture
Byzantine
Medium
Copper
Dimensions
24mm
0.16 oz (4.3 g)
Credit Line
Gift of Brad Hostetler, 2022
Accession Number
2022.30
Provenance
Purchased by Brad Hostetler from Joseph Sinski (Louisville, Ky.) on December 22, 2019.
Condition
The coin has minimal cracks, loss, scratches, and fragmentation along the edges. However, it carries obvious signs of degradation as the images are worn on both sides. Some of the text on the reverse is not legible due to wear. - Anjali Zumkhawala-Cook (’26), December 2022
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings
Obverse:
[+nICIFRb ASILEVRW] (illegible)
Nikephoros Emperor of the Romans
Reverse:
[+nICHF]|EnΘΕW[bA]|SILEV[SRW|MAIWn] (largely illegible)
Nikephoros by God Emperor of the Romans
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. 7, p. 586.
Description
This copper follis prominently depicts the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (r. 963–969) on the obverse. The emperor’s central visage takes up roughly 75% of the coin’s front. He sports a noticeable beard, an imperial cloth known as the loros, and the Byzantine crown with prependilia (strings of pearls that hang from the crown and extend to the shoulders). He also can be seen holding a cross-topped scepter on the left of the coin and a globus cruciger on the right. The reverse features Greek text which translates to “Nikephoros, by God, Emperor of Romans” (Grierson 1973, pp. 177–179).
The coin was minted in Constantinople (Grierson 1973, p. 440), presumably at the beginning of Nikephoros’ reign, and held about the same importance as a US quarter or half dollar. Traditionally, 1 follis was equal to about 40 nummi (another smaller copper coin). Folles ranged dramatically in weight, so it is difficult to determine a universal conversion factor. Depending on the weight of the follis, a single solidus could be valued at anywhere from 180 to 288 folles (Morrisson 2001, p. 930). The follis was used to purchase everyday essentials such as produce and livestock (Grierson 1973, p. 581).
Nikephoros II rose to power through a strategic marriage within the Macedonian dynasty. His reign was most notably characterized by a successful military career; that success continued throughout his rule until he was killed in a murder plot by his wife and nephew (Grierson 1991). His supporters regarded him as the “warrior” king, a reputation that was meant to overshadow the more popular perception of him being an usurper to the throne (Moriss 1988, p. 109), and one that persisted for many centuries that followed (Burke 2014); see the 15th-century image of him with a raised sword in Venice, Biblioteca Marciana, Marc. Lat. 342 (X 158, coll. 3749) fol. 1r.
As seen across Byzantine iconography, style as described by Jaś Elsner, is wielded with intention. This is often done to emulate or mirror previous emperors with whom they seek to be associated. Likewise, Nikephoros models himself after previous emperors on his coins which can be seen as an effort to assure his subjects of their emperor’s divinity and legitimacy.
Bibliography
Burke, John. 2014. “Inventing and re-inventing Byzantium: Nikephoros Phokas, Byzantine Studies in Greece, and ‘New Rome’.” In Wanted: Byzantium. The Desire for a Lost Empire, edited by Ingela Nilsson & Paul Stephenson, 9–42. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis: Studia Byzantina Upsaliensia 15. Uppsala: Uppsala Universitet.
Elsner, Jaś. 2003. “Style.” In Critical Terms for Art History, 2nd ed., eds. Robert S. Nelson, and Richard Shiff, 98–109. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
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.
Grierson, Philip. 1991. “Nikephoros Phokas II.” In The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, ed. Alexander P. Kazhdan. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Morris, Rosemary. 1988. "The Two Faces of Nikephoros Phokas." Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 12: 83–116.
Morrisson, Cécile. 2001. “Byzantine Money: Its Production and Circulation.” In The Economic History of Byzantium: From the Seventh Through the Fifteenth Century, edited by Angeliki E. Laiou, 909–966. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.
Anjali Zumkhawala-Cook (’26), for ARHS 110 (Fall 2022)