Byzantine Coins Research Articles

Byzantine Coins in Central Europe Between the 5th and 10th Century. Proceedings from the Conference Organised by Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences and Institute of Archaeology University of Rzeszów under the Patronage of Union Académique International (

Byzantine Coins in Central Europe Between the 5th and 10th Century. Proceedings from the Conference Organised by Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences and Institute of Archaeology University of Rzeszów under the Patronage of Union Académique International (

Evaluation of laser cleaning of ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine coins

AbstractLaser cleaning tests were performed on ancient coins, which belong to the collection of the Numismatic Museum of Athens, Greece. Silver and copper alloy coins with various types of surface corrosion and ground deposits were studied, using Q‐switched (QS), long pulse (LP) and free‐running (FR) Nd:YAG lasers and a range of laser‐pulsing parameters on wet surfaces. A comparison among the different laser types was made, cleaning with an optical fibre delivery system and an optical focusing subassembly, or with the help of x‐y microadjustable stage. It was discovered that the results of laser cleaning was influenced by the type of corrosion and the corrosion products or the ground deposits on the surface of the coins. The results, evaluated by objective and SEM‐EDX observations, indicated that on silver alloy coins, different wavelengths could achieve a successful laser cleaning for several types of corrosion. On the other hand, laser cleaning could result in loss of the original surface in various cases of copper alloy coins, followed by frequent appearance of the oxidation layer underneath and partial removal of corrosion products and ground deposits. The optimum laser cleaning procedure was associated with the different types of coin corrosions. Special emphasis was stressed on the side effects of the procedures and, in particular, on the minimization of any chemical modifications and thermal results induced to the original surface of the coins. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A note on trade and trade centers in the eastern and northern Adriatic region between the eighth and the ninth Century

Ever since Henri Pirenne has introduced trade to the discipline as a means of understanding the economic take-off of Western Europe, the tendency has been to see commercial relations and centers as key components of the political and cultural landscape of early medieval Europe. Some have claimed that the sudden burst of “exotic” artifacts—swords, winged lance heads, censers, reliquaries—in burial assemblages in Croatia represent the “spillover” of a much more extensive Venetian export of goods. The distribution of eighth- and ninth- century Byzantine coins on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea has also been used as evidence for commercial relations between cities on that coast and the regions in southern Italy, which, like Dalmatia were at that time under Byzantine control. However, very little is known about the Dalmatian cities (Zadar, Trogir, Split, Dubrovnik, Kotor, and Ulcini) during that period, besides what is revealed by the analysis of still-standing monuments, such as the Church of St. Tryphon in Kotor. To date no pottery assemblages have been published from any excavation on urban sites in Croatia or Montenegro. On the basis of the existing evidence, the interpretation of artifacts of clearly foreign—especially Frankish—origin in burial assemblages in the region of Croatia between Cetina and Zrmanja needs to be re-assessed in the light of what little is known about the Frankish encroachment into the western Balkans and the war with Byzantium in the early ninth century.

Platine et plomb dans les monnaies d’or mérovingiennes : nouvelles perspectives analytiques

The debasement of Merovingian gold coins is well known. Specific gravity measurements realized by Oddy et al. allow to follow the decrease in fineness with some reliability. But the process of this debasement itself had not been researched before J.-N. Barrandon undertook proton activation analyses on royal gold coins from Marseille and Arles in the BnF. We are publishing them here and add comments dedicated to his memory. A few supplementary data obtained through LA-ICP-MS are added. The lead/ silver curve shows that silver was added to the alloy quite early. The platinum traces are intermediate between the higher values measured on the contemporaneous Byzantine coins in Constantinople and Carthage and the lower values of the Visigothic coins. Their increase in the first half of the seventh century could be related with an input of Byzantine gold.

The politics of visualizing an imperial demise: transforming a Byzantine chronicle into a Sicilian visual narrative

A large, brightly painted, gilded image renders in graphic detail the discarding of the body of a slain Byzantine emperor, blood still dripping from his neck. On the middle of the same page in this...

The selection of royal figures in the image of power during the Palaiologan epoch: Byzantium - Serbia - Bulgaria

The selection of royal figures in the image of power during the Palaiologan epoch: Byzantium - Serbia - Bulgaria

Les frontières de l'Éternité ? Le cas d'un nom de monnaie : santalene

This paper deals with the interpretation of the name santalene mentioned by some medieval Italian documents ; the author proposes to identify the term with Byzantine coins whose iconography was read by medieval piety as images of Constantine and saint Helen, or one of them, in the context of the cult of the True Cross. This devotional interpretation is based on three medieval Italian hoards and on several other Byzantine coins preserved in Italy as objects of devotion, some of which belonged to the Lateran hoard of 1586 : a hoard which inspired a papal bull of indulgences issued by pope Sixtus V in 1587, according to which each specimen was to become a sort of relic. The cult of the True Cross was very popular in medieval Europe and it is suggested that in France too coins 'of saint Helen', whether Roman or Byzantine, were also considered as objects of devotion.

A Study of Byzantine Coins Discovered in China and Related Problems

A Study of Byzantine Coins Discovered in China and Related Problems

Roman and Byzantine Coins in the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver

La collection du Musée d’anthropologie de l’Université de Colombie Britannique comprend 75 monnaies romaines de l’époque impériale émises soit par la monnaie d’État soit par les ateliers provinciaux. À ceci s’ajoutent quatre monnaies d’époque byzantine. La majorité de ces pièces proviennent de la collection d’antiquités privée de feu Sid Leary donnée au Musée en 1957. La description et le catalogue indiquent que la majorité de ces monnaies sont du III e s. ap., c.-à-d. de la période la moins bien représentée dans les collections de la fin de la République et du début de l’empire romain.

Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection, 4: Alexius I to Michael VIII, 1081-1261, Part 1: Alexius I to Alexius V (1081-1204). Michael F. HendyCatalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection, 4: Alexius I to Michael VIII, 1081-1261, Part 2: The Emperors of Nicaea

<i>Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection, 4: Alexius I to Michael VIII, 1081-1261, Part 1: Alexius I to Alexius V (1081-1204)</i>. Michael F. Hendy<i>Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection, 4: Alexius I to Michael VIII, 1081-1261, Part 2: The Emperors of Nicaea

Some Observations On the Importation of Byzantine Coins To Scandinayia in the Tenthand Eleventh Centuries and the Scandinavian Response

Some Observations On the Importation of Byzantine Coins To Scandinayia in the Tenthand Eleventh Centuries and the Scandinavian Response

Monnaies de la fin de l'empire byzantin à Dumbarton Oaks : un catalogue de référence

Summary. — This review article first summarizes the history of the collection of Byzantine coins in Dumbarton Oaks (Washington) and the decisive role P. Grierson has played for more than 40 years in its development and the publication, now completed, of its catalogue (DOC), a recognized reference in the field. It focusses on volume 5 and Palaeo- logan numismatics and ends with a few pages of supplements following the page numbering of the book.

J. D. BATESON Coinage in Scotland, London (Spink) 1997, 175pp, including 5 figures and 252 photographs; J. D. BATESON &amp; I. G. CAMPBELL Byzantine and Early Medieval Western European Coins in the Hunter Coin Cabinet, University of Glasgow, London (Spink) 1998, xix +180 pages, 29 plates.

<scp>J. D. BATESON</scp> <i>Coinage in Scotland</i>, London (Spink) 1997, 175pp, including 5 figures and 252 photographs; <scp>J. D. BATESON</scp> &amp; <scp>I. G. CAMPBELL</scp> <i>Byzantine and Early Medieval Western European Coins in the Hunter Coin Cabinet, University of Glasgow</i>, London (Spink) 1998, xix +180 pages, 29 plates.

Michael F. Hendy, Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection

Michael F. Hendy, Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection

Philip Grierson, Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection

Article Philip Grierson, Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection was published on March 1, 2000 in the journal Byzantinische Zeitschrift (volume 93, issue 2).

Adition to walkers B.mc of Arab Byzantine coins

Adition to walkers B.mc of Arab Byzantine coins

Byzantine coins from Yumuk Tepe including a lead seal

Byzantine coins from Yumuk Tepe including a lead seal

General Account of Recent Discoveries at Tocra

Short seasons of excavation between 1985 and 1992 were conducted under the supervision of the writer in an open and almost featureless area near the center of the walled city of Tocra. The excavations were part of the Garyunis (Benghazi) University training program, arranged by the Department of Archaeology for undergraduate students.The excavation uncovered the remains of seven buildings and produced a vast quantity of stratified material. Four periods of occupation, Hellenistic, Roman (early and late), Byzantine and Islamic, were encountered within the excavated area.The uppermost levels of all buildings excavated are to be dated mainly in the Byzantine period, but show some structural additions and minor modifications probably undertaken during the Islamic period. The floor level of each building produced a large quantity of material which is confidently referred to the 6th and 7th centuries AD. The vast majority of the dateable finds consisted of coarse pottery, including flat-based jugs, some of which were nearly complete, a very distinctive type of cooking ware with a row of finger indentations on the top of the lug, pieces of broken amphorae, mostly necks, bases and handles; one of these handles is stamped with a bust of a Byzantine emperor in a style exactly similar to that of busts on the obverse of Byzantine coins. The legend, however, is not legible (Fig. 13a). Among the finds were also a large quantity of Byzantine lamps, of which more than thirty are either complete or nearly complete, and many Byzantine coins, of which a high proportion belongs to the reign of Heraclius (AD 610–641).

Sur les monnaies byzantines trouvées en Chine

Summary. — List of the 27 Byzantine coins, imitations or bractéates of Byzantine inspiration, found in China. The historical and archaeological setting of their discovery is outlined, pointing to a limited circulation and hoarding in the metropolitan areas of Northern China. A commentary on diplomatic and economic relations between China and Byzantium stresses their limited nature compared with the importance of the exchanges with the Sasanian Empire.

Special Studies: Application of Xeroradiography to the Study of Bronze Coins

AbstractThe present studies were carried out to determine whether xeroradiography could identify bronze coins with high lead content and record surface detail that might otherwise be lost during cleaning. From a collection of more than 2000 Greek, Judaean, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic coins, selected studies were carried out that demonstrated that 1) image variation produced by penetration of x-rays through coins is the result of surface design and coin thickness as well as lead content, 2) details on corroded coins are detectable by radiography even when surface features were markedly worn, and 3) chemical and mechanical cleaning of coins commonly causes loss of diagnostic detail that can be recorded in xeroradiographs. From these findings it is concluded that xeroradiography is not helpful for recognizing bronze coins with high lead content, but is of use for identifying features in heavily corroded coins that may require special attention during conservation.