40 Nummi - Heraclius Constantinopolis

The years 619–620 were among the most desperate of Heraclius's reign. The Sassanid Persians under Khosrow II had seized Egypt in 619, cutting off the grain supply that fed Constantinople — a catastrophe the city had not faced since its founding. Heraclius was reportedly so demoralized he considered abandoning the capital entirely. That coinage continued to be struck at all during this period reflects the mint's stubborn administrative inertia as much as any imperial confidence.

DOC II-1 no. 92 places this issue within a sequence showing progressive weight reduction as the bronze supply tightened.