Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1/2 Tram - Leo I
| Issuer | Cilician Armenia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1198-1219 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 1.52 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | King Leo I depicted seated facing on throne, wearing crown and royal robes, holding a sceptre in his right hand and a cross or orb in his left; the figure is rendered in the flat, stylised manner characteristic of Armenian hammered coinage. The central design is enclosed within a beaded inner circle, with an Armenian legend occupying the surrounding field and outer margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Armenian |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Leo I was crowned King of Armenian Cilicia in January 1198 by the Holy Roman Emperor's representative, a deliberate political alignment that tied the Armenian kingdom firmly to Western feudal structures rather than Byzantine ones. His coinage system reflected this: the tram denomination was modeled on Crusader monetary conventions, facilitating trade with the Frankish states of the Levant. The half tram served fractional commerce in a coastal kingdom whose port cities — Sis, Tarsus, Ayas — were active nodes in the eastern Mediterranean spice and silk routes.
Ner. 278 places this type within the first phase of Leo's extensive mint output, before later die modifications introduced under continued reign.