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1 Kardez - Hetoum II
| Issuer | Kingdom of Armenian Cilicia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1289-1303 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Armenian |
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| Reverse description | A plain Latin cross with equal arms occupies the central field, its shaft and crossbar rendered in bold relief against a flat copper surface. The cross is surrounded by the Armenian mint legend arranged in a circular manner within the field. The design is characteristically simple and hieratic, reflecting the Crusader artistic influence prevalent in Cilician Armenian ecclesiastical and numismatic iconography of the late 13th century. The flan is irregular in shape and the strike slightly off-center, as is common for hammered copper issues of this series. |
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| Additional information |
Hetoum II ruled in one of the most difficult periods Cilician Armenia ever faced — his reign was fractured by his own abdications, forced returns to power, and the encircling pressure of the Mamluk Sultanate following the fall of Acre in 1291. He twice entered a Franciscan monastery, yet twice found himself pulled back to the throne by political necessity. The kardez was the standard small copper denomination of Cilician Armenia, essential for daily market transactions in Sis and the trading ports of the Cilician coast.
AC 364 places this piece within a well-documented typological sequence, though copper issues of this reign survive in widely varying states due to their heavy circulation use.