Histamenon Nomisma - John I Tzimiskes Constantinopolis

John I Tzimiskes came to the throne by murdering his uncle Nikephoros II Phokas in his bed in December 969, with the empress Theophano allegedly unbarring the palace doors for the conspirators. His reign, though brief, was militarily exceptional — he drove deep into Syria and reached the walls of Jerusalem in 975, a campaign that stopped only because plague broke out among his troops. He died the following year under suspicious circumstances, possibly poisoned by the eunuch chamberlain Basil Lekapenos.

Histamena of this reign are well-documented but not common in fine condition, as the series was already showing the slow debasement that would accelerate catastrophically under later emperors.