Aspron Trachy - Theodore II

Theodore II Laskaris ruled the Nicaean Empire during a period of sustained military pressure from both Bulgarian forces to the north and the Latin remnants clinging to Constantinople. His reign saw deliberate investment in intellectual culture — he was himself a theologian and philosopher of some output — funded partly through a monetary system already in structural decline. The aspron trachy by this period had shed most of its silver content, a degradation that had been accelerating since the late Komnenian era.

Nicaean billon trachea are frequently found with significant fabric distortion, a consequence of the cup-shaped flan proving difficult to strike consistently at reduced silver ratios.