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Semissis - Anastasius I Dicorus Constantinoplis, Type ⳨ inverted
| Issuer | Byzantine Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 491-518 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | BCV#6 |
| Obverse description | Right-facing bust of Emperor Anastasius I depicted in imperial regalia, wearing a pearl diadem, draped paludamentum, and cuirass. The effigy is rendered in the late antique Byzantine style, with fine detail on the armor and shoulder fastening of the cloak. The portrait conveys imperial authority characteristic of early Byzantine coinage. The surrounding legend runs along the coin's periphery in Latin capital letters. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Anastasius I inherited a treasury depleted by decades of military expenditure and promptly overhauled the Byzantine monetary system in 498, reforming the copper coinage entirely — but the gold semissis continued largely unchanged, a fraction denomination tied to the solidus at a ratio fixed since the Constantinian period. The inverted cross type designated here as BCV#6 is a die classification distinguishing the orientation of the christogram or control mark, a detail that matters enormously for attribution but would have been invisible to the merchant weighing the coin by the gram.