40 Nummi - Constans II Constantinopolis

By 651, Byzantine bronze coinage had been in structural decline for decades — weight standards collapsed, flans were poorly prepared, and output from Constantinople was inconsistent enough that DOC II-2 subdivides these issues into fine chronological groupings based on regnal year monograms. The year 13 issues (651–652) fall within a period of acute pressure: the Arab conquests had permanently severed Egypt and Syria from the empire by this point, stripping Constantinople of its wealthiest tax base and forcing brutal fiscal contraction across all minting operations.

The Constantinople mint's 40-nummi pieces from this phase are routinely found on small, thick flans with significant off-center striking — a direct consequence of reduced workshop staffing and degraded flan preparation, not random accident.