It Is Never Too Late to Raise Your Credit Score

Posted on: 21 December 2020

If you have an interest in coinage and history, then collecting Byzantine coins may be something you want to do. But it's hard to know where to start if you're not too familiar with this currency. You don't have to buy hundreds of coins right away. Rather, consider focusing on looking for a few, or even all, of these 5 coins, which are all relatively easy to find at most coin shops that deal with ancient coinage.

Keep in mind that in the Byzantine Empire, coins where less consistent than they are today, so the following are more like classes of coins than distinct, exact prints.

Justinian I

Justinian I ruled over the Byzantine Empire in the mid-500s. He is well known for his contributions to Roman Law. Coins depicting Justinian I show his image on the heads side and the coin's value on the back. You'll find some coins marked with an M on the back, which means the coin is worth 40 nummi. (Nummi were basically the "cents" of the Byzantine era.) You'll find others marked with a V, which means they're worth 5 nummi. These coins are minted in bronze.

Justinian II

Justinian II ruled the Byzantine Empire from 685 - 695 AD. Coins issued during his rule are unique in that they do not show his image. Rather, they feature a symbol that looks like a very detailed, upside-down M, which is meant to symbolize the joint rule of himself and his wife, Sophia. These coins are also minted in bronze and are stamped with the letters V or K on the "tails" side, indicating value.

Maurice Tiberius

Maurice Tiberius ruled the Byzantine Empire in the late 500s and is known for bringing the war with Persia to an end. Coins in his era were often minted in copper, so today, most of them feature a really robust, green-brown patina, much like you see on older pennies. On one side, these coins show an image of Maurice Tiberius, and on the other, they show a letter indicating the value, along with a symbol noting which mint the coin came from. The die work on these coins was very crude; most have very rough edges.

Theophilos

Theophilos ruled in the mid 800s and is known for being very hands-on with his leadership of the armies. During this era, mints were becoming better at creating neatly pressed coins, and so the edges of these coins are smoother than those of early Byzantine coins. On one side, these coins show an image of Theophilos holding a sword. The other side features some lettering. These coins do not indicate which mint they came from, although many may have been minted in Constantinople. 

Manuel I Comnenus

Manuel I Comnenus ruled in the 12th century and aimed to restore military power to the empire. The coins produced during his era were much thinner and smoother than those made earlier on. Many depict the ruler being blessed by Christ himself. The "tails" side of the coin tends to symbols of Christianity, such as a figure of the Virgin Mary. These coins are often slightly bubbled in the middle because of the way they were struck on the die. The edges of the coin are slightly thinner than the middle.

Byzantine coins are really intriguing because each one shows a history of an emperor or ruler. You can learn a lot about ancient history just by collecting these coins. Even if you do not purchase them all, admiring them at a coin shop is a good way to expand your understanding of Byzantine coinage.