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Æ Nummus - Leo I Antioch
| Issuer | Eastern Roman Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 457-474 |
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| Composition | Bronze |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Mint | ANTA - Antioch on the Orontes, Syria, modern-day Antakya, Turkey |
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| Additional information |
Leo I came to power in 457 as the first emperor elevated by a German generalissimo — the Alan warlord Aspar — who fully expected his appointee to remain pliable. He did not. Leo spent much of his reign carefully outmaneuvering Aspar, ultimately having him killed in 471, a move so politically violent it earned Leo the epithet "the Butcher" from his opponents. These tiny nummi were the fractional small change of that maneuvering empire, struck at Antioch while Leo consolidated power in Constantinople.
RIC X 679 is among the smallest denominations the eastern mints produced in this period, a consequence of chronic bronze shortages and the near-total collapse of small-coin circulation in the mid-fifth century Levant.