Aspron Trachy Stamenon - John II Komnenos Constantinopolis, ΙΩ ΔΕϹΠΟΤ Τ ΠΟΥΠΟΓΝΤ with the Christ

John II Komnenos, who inherited the throne from his mother Alexios I's formidable administration, deliberately cultivated a reputation for austerity and personal frugality that set him apart from most Byzantine emperors — contemporaries called him "Kaloïoannes," the Good John. His monetary policy reflected this: the billon trachea issued under his reign maintained a relatively stable silver content compared to the catastrophic debasements of the preceding century, when the nomisma had collapsed from near-pure gold to a debased shell under the pressure of military expenditure and court corruption.

The scyphate fabric of this type — the distinctive cup-shaped flan — was by this reign fully standardized, having been introduced sometime in the mid-eleventh century.