Preview
Creation Date
ca. 1160–1164
Geography
Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey)
Culture
Byzantine
Medium
Billon
Dimensions
31 mm
0.187 oz. (5.3 g)
Credit Line
Gift of Brad Hostetler, 2022
Accession Number
2022.38
Provenance
Purchased by Brad Hostetler from Traci Hawkins (Millersville, Md.) on March 2, 2020.
Condition
The coin’s reverse is legible while portions of the reverse have been worn away. The only visible scratches are about 2 mm above the emperor and a small 1 mm scrape is at the right of the emperor. There is a grated pattern to the left of the emperor’s image that contains a rough texture, possibly damage. The obverse has rust colored discoloration on the upper right and white discoloration towards the bottom right. The reverse contains white discoloration on the left side of the emperor and rust-orange discoloration to the right. The reverse’s image has been worn away in between the inscriptions. - Samuel Morris (’25), December 2022
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings
Obverse:
ΜΡ ΘV = Mother of God
Reverse:
[Μ]ΑΝȣΗΛ [ΔΕ]CΠ[ΟΤ]H[C] = Manuel Emperor
References
Hendy, Michael F. 1999. Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection, vol. 4, Alexius I to Alexius V, 1081–1204. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, no. 12b, pp. 310–311.
Description
Irregular edges and a concave shape set this coin apart from the typical form we associate with coins today. The coin’s deep brown coloring comes from its mainly copper composition although the material itself is billon, an alloy which includes a small amount of silver (Grierson 1999, p. 44). The obverse of the coin depicts a haloed Virgin Mary cradling the beardless haloed head of Christ against her breast; she sits upon a backless throne. The inscription labels her the Mother of God. On the reverse a bearded Manuel I Komnenos wears a Byzantine crown and silk robe, with an imperial robe layered over his right shoulder. Manuel’s right hand grasps a military staff bearing a cross, and his left holds a globus cruciger, a sphere symbolizing the world. “Manuel” and ”Emperor” are written on the left and right respectively (Hendy 1999, p. 310).
This Aspron Trachy would have originated in Constantinople, or modern day Istanbul (Hendy 1999, p. 304). A metaphorical workhorse, these billon coins were used as a measure of prosperity due to their prevalence (Hendy 1999, p. 282). This coin could’ve been passed through the hands of landowners, storekeepers and soldiers. The coin’s prevalence could very well explain the imagery found on its obverse. The image of the Virgin Mary is similar to that depicted in the apse mosaic of Hagia Sophia. It is possible this choice was a reminder to the coin’s holder of their economic dependence on both Constantinople and its ruler.
The striking concavity of the coin is a subject of debate among historians as the change in shape is never directly mentioned in ancient texts. Theories range from symbolic to practical but numismatist Jonathan Jarrett provides a multifaceted theory for the change (Jarrett 2017, p. 3). As previously stated billon is an alloy; the amount of gold or silver used could shift depending on many factors concerning the metals’ availability. If there was a shift away from precious metal and towards more copper, the coins would have become much harder and it would be more difficult to strike a flat image. Jarrett suggests this could have led to the initial concavity of the coins but that an appearance of Bulgarian coins imitating Byzantine coinage continued its prevalence. The unique shape of the coin would have set it apart from any imitators serving an early form of copy protection.
Bibliography
Dumbarton Oaks. n.d. “Glossary of Numismatic Terms.” Dumbarton Oaks Museum and Collection. Accessed December 1, 2022. https://www.doaks.org/resources/coins/glossary
Grierson, Philip. 1999. Byzantine Coinage. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.
Hendy, Michael F. 1999. Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection, vol. 4, Alexius I to Alexius V, 1081–1204. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.
Jarrett, Jonathan. 2017. “Why Did the Byzantine Coinage Turn Concave? Old Suggestions and a New One.” XV International Numismatic Congress Taormina 2015: Proceedings, Addendum, edited by Maria Caccamo Caltabiano, 1–4. Rome: Arbor Sapientiae.
Morrisson, Cécile, and Jean-Claude Cheynet. 2001. “Prices and Wages in the Byzantine World.” In The Economic History of Byzantium: From the Seventh Through the Fifteenth Century, ed. Angeliki E. Laiou, 815–878. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.
Niketas Choniates, History. Translated by Harry J. Magoulias. 1984. Detroit: Wayne State University.
Samuel Morris (’25) for ARHS 110 (Fall 2022)