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1/2 Tetarteron - John II Komnenos Thessalonica, IW DECPOT
| Issuer | Byzantine Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1118-1143 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Iw DECPOTH (Translation: Iw (=Iohannes) Despot (-is) : `John the Despot`.) |
| Reverse description | Facing bust of the Virgin Mary (Theotokos) orans, depicted in the Byzantine iconic manner with arms raised in prayer, wearing a maphorion. The Greek inscription arranged in vertical columns on either side of the figure reads Q DI MI T PI O C, a sigla for Theotokos Dimitriou Triodas or a related Marian epithet associated with the Thessalonica mint. The style is consistent with provincial Komnenian copper coinage, with flat, stylised features and a heavily patinated, irregular flan. |
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| Additional information |
John II Komnenos struck tetartera at Thessalonica as part of the administrative decentralization of Byzantine minting — the city functioned as a secondary imperial mint precisely because of its strategic position on the Via Egnatia. The DECPOT (Despot) titulature on this type reflects the co-emperor status granted to his son, likely Alexios, who was elevated as heir apparent in the 1130s but predeceased his father in 1142.
At half the weight of the standard tetarteron, these fractional pieces remain poorly understood in terms of their precise role in local exchange.