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1/4 Hyperpyron - John VIII Constantinopolis
| Issuer | Byzantine Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1421-1448 |
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| Currency | Silver Hyperpyron (1367-1453) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Facing bust of Emperor John VIII Palaiologos, crowned and wearing imperial loros, set within a beaded inner circle. The emperor is depicted in frontal view with elaborate imperial regalia characteristic of late Byzantine coinage. A Greek legend surrounds the effigy within the outer border, identifying the ruler by name and title. The strike is irregular and flat in areas, consistent with hammered late Byzantine fabric. The overall style reflects the debased artistic conventions of the final decades of the Constantinople mint. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | IWANHC BACILEVC (or DECPOTIC) Q PALEOLOGOC John Emperor |
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| Additional information |
John VIII ruled during the Byzantine Empire's terminal decades, when Constantinople controlled little more than the city itself and a handful of Aegean outposts. The hyperpyron, once the dominant gold coin of eastern Mediterranean trade, had so thoroughly debased over the preceding two centuries that by John's reign fractional silver issues like this quarter had effectively replaced it in day-to-day commerce. John spent much of his reign abroad seeking Western military aid — most famously at the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1438-39 — leaving a treasury too depleted to sustain consistent mint output.