Irregular copper - Tamar I

Tamar's copper issues are notoriously inconsistent in fabric, a product of decentralized minting across a kingdom expanding rapidly through military campaigns into Armenia, Anatolia, and the northern Caucasus. The Tbilisi mint operated under pressure to supply coinage for an economy growing faster than its administrative infrastructure could manage, and weight standards were treated as approximate at best.

Tamar remains the only woman to have ruled Georgia in her own right, crowned in 1184 and later given the male title "Mepe" — king — in official documents and on coinage itself.