The Changing Iconography of Byzantine Gold Coins
The
Byzantine Empire, which lasted more than a thousand years, had one of the most monetized economies in medieval
Europe. The coinage of
Byzantium was an essential element of this unique civilization, which preserved Roman law and state structures and inherited not only the Hellenistic cultural tradition, but also a powerful organizing force–
Christianity.
Constantine I (306–337). At the accession of the emperor
Anastasius I (491–518), there were three denominations of gold coins: the
solidus (in Greek,
semissis (half) and
tremissis (third), along with a tiny copper coin known as a
nummus. The typical obverse of the Byzantine solidus at the end of the fifth century and the beginning of the sixth was a three-quarter frontal bust of the emperor, usually in armor and holding a spear. The reverse type depicted