Tetarteron - John III Doukas Vatatzes Magnesia

John III's tetartera from Magnesia occupy an awkward position in Byzantine numismatic history — the Empire of Nicaea was simultaneously a government in exile and a functioning state, minting coin not from Constantinople but from the Lydian city that served as its administrative capital after 1204. The fractured political geography following the Fourth Crusade forced Byzantine monetary production into regional centers it had never previously relied upon, and the Magnesia mint reflects that improvisation directly.

BCV 2116 is among the more frequently encountered Nicaean bronzes, suggesting reasonably sustained production under John III's long reign.