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Aspron Trachy - John II Komnenos Constantinopolis
| Issuer | Byzantine Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1118-1143 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Aspron Trachy (⅓) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Two standing figures face the viewer on the concave reverse: at left, Emperor John II Komnenos, crowned and robed in the imperial loros with divitision and chlamys, and at right, Saint George nimbate and clad in military attire with a sword at his side. Together they jointly support a tall patriarchal cross at its shaft, a compositional motif conveying divine sanction of imperial authority. The abbreviated Greek inscription naming the emperor and the saint is distributed across the field, partially flanking the central cross. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
John II is generally regarded as the most capable of the Komnenian emperors — disciplined, personally austere, and relentlessly campaigning. His reign saw sustained military pressure on the Seljuks in Anatolia and the recovery of Cilician Armenia, which may explain why his coinage survives in such varied condition: these were not peacetime issues sitting in temple hoards but currency moving with armies and through active frontier markets.
The electrum content of Komnenian trachea was already well below the earlier Byzantine standard by this period, a debasement that had accelerated sharply under his predecessor Alexios I. BCV 1941 falls within the reformed tariff system Alexios established around 1092, which John inherited without further major alteration.