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Transitional Hyperpyron - John III
| Issuer | Empire of Nicaea (Byzantine states) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1232 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes is depicted standing facing, robed in imperial loros and wearing the stemma, his right hand holding the labarum staff and his left hand clasping the akakia. The Virgin Mary, nimbate and shown in a three-quarter pose, stands to the emperor's right and places a crown upon his head in the traditonal Byzantine coronation investiture scene. The Greek legend identifies the emperor by his title and epithet Porphyrogenitos, distributed across the field. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
John III Doukas Vatatzes issued this coin during a period when Nicaea was aggressively consolidating its claim as the legitimate successor to Constantinople, then held by the Latin Empire. The "transitional" designation reflects a documented shift in hyperpyron iconography occurring around this decade, as Nicaean minting practice gradually diverged from late Constantinopolitan conventions. DOC IV-2 #3 places this piece at an early point in that stylistic break.
Nicaean gold of this reign is genuinely scarce — the empire's economy, though recovering, was small relative to its Byzantine predecessors, and surviving hyperpyra from John III are underrepresented in major collections relative to his historical importance.