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Trachy Imitation trachy of Isaac II Angelos
| Issuer | Second Bulgarian Empire |
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| Year | 1200-1202 |
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| Reference(s) | Radoměrský (1953) p. 109, no. 1 |
| Obverse description | Bust of the Virgin Mary (Theotokos) facing three-quarters, crowned and nimbed, depicted in a stylized Byzantine manner characteristic of Bulgarian imitative coinage. The figure is shown with draped shoulders and vestments rendered in summary, bold strokes typical of provincial hammered work. The inscription MP ΘV — the standard Greek Marian monogram for Meter Theou (Mother of God) — appears in the field flanking the bust. The strike is slightly off-center on an irregular scyphate flan, and the overall execution reflects a local imitation of contemporary Byzantine prototypes. |
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| Mintage | ND (1200-1202) |
| Additional information |
Isaac II Angelos was deposed, blinded, and imprisoned by his own brother Alexios III in 1195. The Bulgarian imitations of his trachy coinage began circulating shortly after, issued under Kaloyan — a ruler who had spent years extracting diplomatic recognition from Rome and Constantinople simultaneously. That these coins mimic Byzantine types so closely was deliberate: Bulgaria lacked the monetary infrastructure to assert a wholly independent numismatic identity, and Byzantine-style currency carried transactional legitimacy across the Balkans that purely Bulgarian issues would not.
Radoměrský's 1953 identification of this type remains the foundational reference; Bulgarian imitative trachea from this narrow window are genuinely scarce in Western collections.