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Gold Hyperpyron - Isaak II Angelos
| Issuer | Byzantine Empire (Byzantine states) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1185-1195 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Hyperpyron (1) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The Theotokos (Mother of God) enthroned facing, nimbate, depicted in three-quarter length upon a high-backed throne, holding the Christ Child before her on her lap. The Infant Christ is shown nimbate and en face. The Greek Marian sigla MP-ΘV (abbreviation of Meter Theou, Mother of God) appear flanking the Virgin's nimbus in the field to left and right. The design is contained within a beaded inner border, with the characteristic concave scyphate fabric of the late Byzantine hyperpyron clearly visible. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | MP-ΘV |
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| Additional information |
Isaak II came to power by killing the sitting emperor Andronikos I with his own hands in September 1185 — a mob had already torn Andronikos apart in the Hippodrome, but Isaak landed the final blow. His decade on the throne was defined by near-constant military crisis: the Bulgarians reasserted independence under the Asen brothers in 1185, and the Third Crusade's passage through Byzantine territory in 1189–90 nearly turned violent when Frederick Barbarossa threatened open war. The hyperpyron coinage of this reign reflects a treasury under sustained pressure, with gold fineness measurably declining from earlier Komnenian standards.