Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Tornese - Anonymous Politikon coinage
| Issuer | Byzantine Empire (Byzantine states) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1354-1376 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | BCV#2583 (Anonymous), DOC V-2#1222 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A cross pattée with flared arms extends to the edge of the flan, dividing the field into four quarters, each containing a six-rayed star in low but sharp relief. The arms of the cross broaden toward the periphery in the characteristic pattée form. No legend is present, consistent with the anonymous nature of this politikon coinage. The flan is irregular and slightly concave, with a finely beaded border visible along portions of the edge. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The anonymous politikon coinage emerged from a Byzantine monetary system in terminal collapse. By the mid-fourteenth century, the empire had been reduced to Constantinople and scattered fragments, its gold hyperpyron effectively defunct as a practical currency. These small billon pieces filled the gap left by decades of debasement, circulating alongside Venetian and Genoese issues in markets where Byzantine imperial authority was increasingly nominal.
The attribution window of 1354–1376 spans one of the most turbulent stretches of late Byzantine history, overlapping the civil wars between John V and John VI Kantakouzenos and the definitive Ottoman seizure of Gallipoli.