EL Aspron Trachy - Andronikos I Komnenos Constantinopolis

Andronikos I seized power in 1183 by having his co-emperor Alexios II strangled — reportedly with a bowstring — and ruled for just two years before a Constantinople mob tore him apart in the Hippodrome in 1185. His coinage reflects the brevity and violence of the reign: produced in quantity sufficient to establish legitimacy, yet short-lived enough that fine examples are genuinely uncommon. The electrum content of aspron trachea had been declining steadily since the reform coinage of the 11th century, and by Andronikos's reign the alloy was significantly debased from its earlier standard.