Tetarteron - John II Komnenos Thessalonica, IW DECPOT

John II inherited a reformed coinage system from his father Alexios I, whose late-career monetary overhaul had reestablished meaningful distinctions between gold, electrum, billon, and copper denominations after decades of debasement. The tetarteron occupied the lowest rung of that hierarchy. Thessalonica operated as the empire's second mint throughout the Komnenian period, and issues from that city are generally distinguishable from Constantinople output — though attribution between the two can be contested for certain types within this reign.

BCV 1953 is among the more modestly documented Komnenian coppers. Thessalonican fabric tends toward rougher flans.