Constantine V

CATALOGUE

SEAR

ARMENIAN

COINS

EMPERORS

ANONYMOUS

FOLLIS

ARAB-BYZANTINE

COINS

Constantine

Intro ...

(741-775)

CONSTANTINOPLE

Constantine V (741-775). AV Solidus. Constantinople mint. Sear 1550.

Obv: ɢ . ɴ . (or ʙ, г or ɴ) cᴏɴsτᴀɴτıɴчs (sometimes followed by ɴ͡c or ⲑc), or similar. Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding cross potent and akakia;

Rev: ɢ . ʟєᴏɴ ᴘ . ᴀ . ᴍчʟ . or ᴍчʟτ . (sometimes followed by ʜ or ⲑ or ı). Facing bust of Leo III (the emperor’s deceased father), with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding cross potent and akakia.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Solidus. Constantinople mint. Sear 1551.

Obv: cᴏnsτᴀnτınᴏs s ʟєᴏn ᴏ nєᴏs. Facing busts of Constantine V, with short beard (left) and his son Leo IV, beardless (right), each wearing crown and chlamys; usually between their heads, pellet; in field above, cross.

Rev: ɢ . ʟєᴏɴ ᴘ . ᴀ . ᴍч . or ᴍчʟ . (sometimes followed by ⲑ or ϕ or ᴀ or ʙ). Facing bust of Leo III (the emperor’s deceased father), with short beard, wearing crown and loros, and holding cross potent.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Semissis. Constantinople mint. Sear 1552.

Obv: ɢ . ɴ . cᴏɴsτᴀɴτıɴч. Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding cross potent on globus in right hand, and akakia in left;

Rev: ɢ . ʟєᴏɴ ᴘ . ᴀ . ᴍчʟτ . Facing bust of Leo III (the emperor’s deceased father), with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding cross potent and akakia.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Solidus. Constantinople mint. Sear 1553.

Rev: ɢ . ʟєᴏɴ ᴘ . ᴀ . ᴍчʟτ . Facing bust of Leo III, with short beard, wearing crown and loros, and holding cross potent on globus.

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Constantine V (741-775). AR Miliaresion. Constantinople mint. Sear 1554.

Obv: ıhsчs xʀısτчs nıcᴀ. Cross potent on 3 steps; triple border.

Rev: cᴏn / sτᴀnτı / nє s ʟєᴏn / єc ⲑєч ьᴀ (or єc ⲑᖸ ьᴀ) / ꜱıⳑıꜱ · in 5 lines; triple border.

Note: these are sometimes overstruck on Arabic dirhams.

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Constantine V (741-775). Æ Follis. Constantinople mint. Sear 1555.

Obv: ∂ . ɴ . cᴏɴsτᴀɴτıɴ . (or similar). Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia;

Rev: Large ᴍ between xxx and ɴɴɴ; above ᴍ, cross; beneath, ᴀ or ʙ.

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Constantine V (741-775). Æ Follis. Constantinople mint. Sear 1556.

Obv: No legend. Facing busts of Constantine V, with short beard (left) and his son Leo IV, beardless (right), each wearing crown and chlamys; between their heads, cross.

Rev: Facing bust of Leo III, with short beard, wearing crown and loros, and holding cross potent; all above a horizontal line, with globes at either end, beneath which large ᴍ between x and ɴ; beneath ᴍ, ᴀ; in field to right of bust, cross.

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Constantine V (741-775). Æ Follis. Constantinople mint. Sear 1557.

Obv: No legend. Constantine V, with short beard (left) and his son Leo IV, beardless (right), seated facing on double throne, each wearing crown and chlamys, and holding akakia; between their heads, cross.

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Constantine V (741-775). Æ Half follis. Constantinople mint. Sear 1558.

Obv: ∂ . ɴ . cᴏɴsτᴀɴτıɴ . (or similar). Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia;

Rev: Large ᴋ between xxx and ɴɴɴ; above ᴋ, cross (sometimes absent); sometimes in field to right of ᴋ, pellet or cross; beneath, ᴀ or ʙ.

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Constantine V (741-775). Æ Half follis. Constantinople mint. Sear 1559.

Obv: ∂ . ɴ . cᴏɴsτᴀɴτ . (or similar). Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding cross potent and akakia;

Rev: Large ᴋ between xxx and ɴɴɴ; above ᴋ, cross; beneath, ᴀ.

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Constantine V (741-775). Æ Half follis. Constantinople mint. Sear 1560.

Obv: No legend. Facing busts of Constantine V, with short beard (left) and his son Leo IV, beardless (right), each wearing crown and chlamys; between their heads, cross.

Rev: Large ᴋ between xxx and ɴɴɴ; above ᴋ, cross; beneath, ᴀ.

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Constantine V (741-775). Æ Half follis. Constantinople mint. Sear 1561.

Rev: Large ᴋ between xxx and ɴɴɴ.

Note: this is the last recorded half follis to bear the traditional mark of value for this denomination — ᴋ.

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Constantine V (741-775). Æ Decanummium. Constantinople mint. Sear 1562.

Obv: ∂ . ɴ . cᴏɴsτᴀɴτıɴ . (or similar). Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia;

Rev: Large ɪ between xxx and ɴɴɴ; above ɪ, cross; beneath, ᴀ.

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Constantine V (741-775). Æ Pentanummium. Constantinople mint. Sear 1563.

Obv: ∂ . ɴ . cᴏɴsτᴀɴτ . (or similar). Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding cross potent and akakia;

Rev: Large є.

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SYRACUSE

Constantine V (741-775). AV Solidus. Syracuse mint. Sear 1564.

Obv: ɢ . ɴ . cᴏɴsτᴀɴτɴı чʟ. Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding cross potent and akakia;

Rev: ɢɴᴏ ʟєᴏɴ ᴘ . ᴀ . ᴍч. Facing bust of Leo III, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Solidus. Syracuse mint. Sear 1565.

Obv: cᴏnτᴀɴ . ᴧєᴏn (or similar; usually only partially legible). Facing busts of Constantine V, with short beard (left) and his son Leo IV, beardless (right), each wearing crown and chlamys; sometimes between their heads, pellet; in field above, cross.

Rev: ɢɴᴏ ʟєᴏɴ ᴘ . ᴀ . ᴍ . (or similar). Facing bust of Leo III, with short beard, wearing crown and loros, and holding cross potent; sometimes in field to right, ⲑ or standard ornamented with four pellets.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Semissis. Syracuse mint. Sear 1566.

Obv: ∂ . cᴏɴsτᴀᖸ㆜ . (or similar). Bust facing, with short beard (?), wearing crown and chlamys, and holding cross potent on globus, and akakia;

Rev: ∂ɴᴏ ʟєᴏɴ ᴘ . ᴀ . ᴍ . (or similar). Facing bust of Leo III, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Tremissis. Syracuse mint. Sear 1567.

Obv: cᴏɴsτᴀɴ. (or similar). Bust facing, with short beard (?), wearing crown and chlamys, and holding cross potent and akakia;

Rev: ᴅ . ɴ . ʟєᴏɴ ᴘ . ᴀ . ᴍ . (or similar). Facing bust of Leo III, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia.

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Constantine V (741-775). Æ Follis. Syracuse mint. Sear 1568.

Obv: Constantine V, bearded, standing facing, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding akakia; to left, ᴋωɴs; to right, Δєcⲡ.

Rev: Leo IV, beardless, standing facing, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding akakia; to left, ᴧєᴏɴ; to right, ɴєᴏᴠ.

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Constantine V (741-775). Æ Follis. Syracuse mint. Sear 1569.

Obv: Constantine V bearded (left), and Leo IV beardless (right), standing facing, each wearing crown and chlamys, and holding akakia; between their heads, cross; to left, ᴋ; to right, ᴧєωɴ (sometimes ᴏ for ω).

Rev: Leo III, bearded, standing facing, each wearing crown and chlamys, and holding cross potent; to left, ᴧєᴏɴ or ᴧ / єᴏ / ɴ; to right, Δєcⲡ.

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Constantine V (741-775). Æ Half follis. Syracuse mint. Sear 1569ᴀ.

Obv: No legend. Facing busts of Constantine V, bearded (left), and Leo IV, beardless (right), each wearing crown and chlamys; exergual line, beneath which, ᴄıᴋ’ᴧ (?).

Rev: No legend. Facing bust of Leo III, bearded, wearing crown and loros, and holding cross potent; exergual line, beneath which, ᴧ.

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ROME

Constantine V (741-775). AV Solidus. Rome mint. Sear 1570.

Obv: ᴅɴᴏ cᴏɴᴛᴀɴᴛı (or similar). Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia.

Rev: ᴅɴᴏ ʟє . ᴘ . ᴀ . ᴍчʟ. (or similar). Facing bust of Leo III, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia; in field, ı—ᙅ or ı—є or ʀ—ı or star/ı or star/Δ or г or ʀ only, to right. [NOTE THAT TURNED OMEGA SIGN HAS A UNICODE SYMBOL U+1D21D]

Notes: Usually debased metal, sometimes even bronze.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Solidus. Rome mint. Sear 1571.

Obv: ᴅɴᴏ cᴏɴᴛᴀɴᴛı (or similar). Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia.

Rev: ᴅɴᴏ ʟє . ᴘ . ᴀ . ᴍчʟ. (or similar). Facing bust of Leo III, with short beard, wearing crown and loros over chlamys, and holding akakia; in field to right, Δ.

Notes: Usually debased metal, sometimes even bronze.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Solidus. Rome mint. Sear 1572.

Obv: ᴅɴᴏ cᴏɴᴛᴀɴᴛıɴ or ᴅɴᴏ cᴏɴꜱᴛᴀɴᴛıɴч (or similar). Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia.

Rev: ᴠıcᴛᴏʀı ᴀᴠҁᴛᴏ. Cross potent on 3 steps, cᴏɴᴏʙ beneath; in field to left, star; to right, ʀ.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Solidus. Rome mint. Sear 1573.

Obv: cᴏɴꜱᴛ . ʟєᴏ ᴘᴘ . Facing busts of Constantine V, with short beard (left) and his son Leo IV, beardless (right), each wearing crown and chlamys, Constantine holding globus cruciger and akakia; between their heads, cross, above which is the manus Dei extended from Heaven; sometimes with pellet between their heads.

Rev: ıᴠcᴛᴏʀı ᴀᴠҁᴛᴏ. Cross potent on 3 steps, cᴏɴᴏʙ beneath; in field to left, star; to right, ʀ.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Tremissis. Rome mint. Sear 1574.

Obv: ᴅɴᴏ cᴏɴᴛᴀɴᴛı (or similar). Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia.

Rev: ᴅɴᴏ ʟє . ᴘ . ᴀ . ᴍчʟ. (or similar). Facing bust of Leo III, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia; in field, ı—ᙅ or ʀ—ı or star/ı—star/Δ or ı—є or ʀ only, to right. [NOTE THAT TURNED OMEGA SIGN HAS A UNICODE SYMBOL U+1D21D]

Notes: usually of debased metal, sometimes even bronze.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Tremissis. Rome mint. Sear 1575.

Obv: ᴅɴᴏ cᴏɴᴛᴀɴᴛı (or similar). Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia.

Rev: ᴅɴᴏ ʟє . ᴘ . ᴀ . ᴍчʟ. (or similar). Facing bust of Leo III, with short beard, wearing crown and loros over chlamys, and holding globus cruciger; in field to right, Δ or ʙ.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Tremissis. Rome mint. Sear 1576.

Obv: ᴅɴᴏ cᴏɴᴛᴀɴᴛıɴ or ᴅɴᴏ cᴏɴꜱᴛᴀɴᴛıɴч (or similar). Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia.

Rev: ᴠıcᴛᴏʀı (or ıᴠcᴛᴏʀı) ᴀᴠҁᴛᴏ (or ᴀᴠҁᴛ). Cross potent, cᴏɴᴏʙ beneath; in field to left, star; to right, ʀ.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Tremissis. Rome mint. Sear 1577.

Rev: ıᴠcᴛᴏʀı ᴀᴠҁᴛᴏ. Cross potent, cᴏɴᴏʙ beneath; in field to left, star; to right, ʀ.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Tremissis. Rome mint. Sear 1578.

Obv: [No legend ?]. Facing busts of Constantine V, with short beard (left) and his son Leo IV, beardless (right), each wearing crown and chlamys, Constantine holding globus cruciger and akakia; between their heads, cross; sometimes with pellet between their heads.

Rev: ᴠıcᴛᴏʀı ᴀᴠҁᴛᴏ. Cross potent on globus resting on 3 steps, cᴏɴᴏʙ beneath; in field, ʀ—m.

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Constantine V (741-775). AR ⅛ Siliqua or 30 nummi (c. 0.15g). Rome mint. Sear 1579.

Obv: No legend. Bust facing, beardless, wearing crown and chlamys; in field to left, cross.

Rev: Monogram; in upper field to left, ᴢ (= Pope Zacharias).

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RAVENNA

Constantine V (741-775). Æ Follis. Ravenna mint. Sear 1580.

Obv: [Legend fragmentary]. Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia (?).

Rev: Large ᴍ between ɴɴɴ and xxx; above ᴍ, cross; beneath, ʀᴀᴠ.

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UNCERTAIN ITALIAN MINTS

Constantine V (741-775). AV Solidus. Uncertain Italian mint. Sear 1581.

Obv: [Legend fragmentary] Facing busts of Constantine V, with short beard (left) and Leo IV, beardless (right), each wearing crown and chlamys; in field above, cross.

Rev: ᴅ . ʟєᴏɴ ᴘ . ᴀ . ᴍч. (or similar). Facing bust of Leo III, with short beard, wearing crown and loros, and holding cross potent.

Notes: usually of debased metal, sometimes even bronze.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Solidus. Uncertain Italian mint. Sear 1581ᴀ.

Obv: ᴏ cᴏиᴀиı. Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia (?).

Rev: ɴᴏ ʟєᴏᴍ ᴍᗡc. Facing bust of Leo III, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and akakia (?); in field ɪ—ᙅ.

Notes: usually of debased metal, sometimes even bronze.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Tremissis. Uncertain Italian mint. Sear 1582.

Obv: ɢ . ɴ . cᴏɴs . ᴀч. (or similar; usually only partially legible). Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger and mappa (?).

Rev: ᴠıcᴛᴏʀıᴀ or ᴠıcᴛᴏʀı ᴀᴠs . (or similar; usually incomplete and sometimes blundered). Cross potent, cᴏɴᴏʙ beneath; sometimes in field to right, ᴀ or ᴀ surmounted by cross or ʙ or ıΔ or ıє; or ı to left and Δ to right.

Notes: usually of debased electrum or silver.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Tremissis. Uncertain Italian mint. Sear 1582ᴀ.

Obv: . . ɴ . cᴏ . . . . . ɴʟч. Facing busts of Constantine V, bearded (right) and Leo IV, beardless (left), each wearing crown and chlamys; between their heads, ⁘ .

Rev: ᴠıcᴛᴏʀıᴀ sᴀ. Cross potent, cᴏɴᴏʙ beneath; in field, ı—Δ.

Notes: usually of debased electrum or silver.

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Constantine V (741-775). AV Tremissis. Uncertain Italian mint. Sear 1582ʙ.

Obv: ᴅ . cᴏɴsᴛᴀɴᴛı. Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger.

Rev: ᴅ . ɴ . ʟєᴏ … ᴛᴀᴢ. Facing bust of Leo IV, beardless, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger; in field to right, star.

Notes: usually of debased electrum or silver.

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Constantine V (741-775). AR Half siliqua (?). Uncertain Italian mint. Sear 1582ᴄ.

Obv: No legend. Bust facing with short beard (?), wearing crown and loros; in field to right and left, stars.

Rev: No legend. Bust facing with short beard (?), wearing crown and loros; in field to right and left, stars.

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Constantine V (741-775). Æ Follis. Uncertain Italian mint. Sear 1582ᴅ.

Obv: No legend. Facing busts of Constantine V, with short beard (left) and his son Leo IV, beardless (right), each wearing crown and chlamys; between their heads, cross.

Note: this type is the exact same as the Constantinopolitan follis SB 1556, but of coarser provincial style; sometimes the busts on the obv. are transposed, with Constantine on the right and Leo on the left.

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Constantine V (741-775). Æ (uncertain denomination, c. 16mm and 1.2g). Uncertain Italian mint. Sear 1582ᴇ.

Obv: No legend. Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding cross potent; in field to right, star.

Rev: No legend. Cross potent on three steps, between two stars.

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BACKGROUND AND CHRONOLOGY

Constantine V was born in 718 and created co-Augustus by his father on Easter Day, 25 March 720. He became sole emperor on his father’s death in the summer of 741. A year later, as we have seen, he was ousted by his brother-in-law Artavasdus, and it was not til 2 November 743 that he recovered the capital and reestablished his position. His long reign lasted for over thirty years, until his death on 14 September 775. He married three times. By his first wife Irene, daughter of the Khazar Khan, he had a son Leo (IV) who succeeded him. His second wife, of whom nothing is known, died childless in 751, within a year of their marriage. By his third wife Eudocia he had five sons and one daughter. Leo IV was born on 25 January 749 and crowned co-Augustus on Whitsunday 751, i.e. 6 June, and thence forward has a place on the coinage. Eudocia was crowned Augusta on 1 April 769, and the next morning, which was Easter Day, her two elder children Nicephorus and Christopher were created Caesars and their younger brother Nicetas was given the rank of nobilissimus. The boys survived to play an unhappy role in the intrigues that accompanied the rise to power of Irene.

“Few reputations,” as Finlay observed, “have passed through such an ordeal of malice as that of Constantine, and preserved so many undeniable virtues.” It was under him that the war on images was pushed to extremes, and since it was the iconodules who ultimately won, his character and almost every aspect of his policy are depicted by the chroniclers in the worst light. Those concerned with public affairs, even when otherwise prejudiced, took a more balanced view. When the Council of 787 restored the cult of images and condemned Leo and Constantine for their heretical and blasphemous religious policy, it went out of its way to applaud their achievements in other spheres: their courage and success in war, their wise administration, the care they devoted to the welfare of their subjects. Constantine was in fact an outstanding general, and his great military successes in the Balkans and Asia Minor were supported by far-sighted arrangements for the resettlement of provinces so long devastated by invasion and brigandage. Only in Italy did the decline of Byzantine power continue unchecked. Ravenna was lost to the Lombards in 751, and when Pope Adrian I received Charlemagne in Rome in April 774, he did so as effective ruler, if not yet legal sovereign, of the city.

Constantine is one of the few Byzantine emperors whose financial activities are commented upon by contemporary writers. He was accused of avarice—a “Christ-hating new Midas” Nicephorus calls him—and it was said that his hoarding resulted in such a shortage of ready money that prices fell on the market, a boon to the poor of Constantinople but not to farmers having to sell their produce. Further, during the siege of Constantinople in 743, he is aleged to have issued leather solidi to the merchants who supplied his troops, promising to redeem them later, which in due course he did. They were apparently real obsidional money, not simply promises to pay, and the expedient was no doubt suggested by classical precedents, real or imaginary. An occasional resort to leather money was alleged of both the Spartans and the Carthaginians, and a passage in the chronicle of Eusebius-Jerome, to the effect that Numa made use of leather and bark assaria, seems to have been of some notoriety—it later caught the attention of Suidas, as it had done that of the compilers of early medieval glossaries in the West—and must have been familiar to the emperor and his advisers.

COINAGE: MAIN FEATURES

Constantine V's coinage is in all essentials a continuation of that of his father, the resemblance being so close that Wroth and Tolstoi both attributed to one emperor coins which really belonged to the other. In a few cases, indeed, we are still uncertain as to where the line between them should be drawn. One striking change, however, was made in the gold, for Constantine practically discontinued, so far as Constantinople was concerned, the issue of semisses and tremisses. The reason for this is unknown. It cannot have been because their function was taken over by silver, since although Constantine struck miliaresia of the same type as his father, they were still technically of a ceremonial character and their issue did not begin til Leo IV was associated co-emperor in 751. Constantine's folles also remained very small and light, like those of Leo I’s later issues, so that in the end the lower fractions ceased to be struck altogether. It was as if both gold and copper were being reduced to the simplest possible pattern of denominations.

One notable innovation was made in the design of the coins. Instead of reverting to the customary pattern of the gold when there was only a single emperor, and of using a cross potent as the basic reverse type, Constantine V preferred to show himself in association with his deceased father. It has been suggested elsewhere (above, p. 9) that this may show Muslim influence: it was a pictorial representation of the filiation formulae which played a major role in Arab personal names (‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, etc.). Scholars have differed in their view as to whether the side of the coin with Leo's bust should be considered the obverse or the reverse. It seems that there is no simple answer to the problem, for it was first one and subsequently the other. The solidus is not at first sight of much help, since the early coins show both emperors holding across potent on base (Pl. VIII. 1), but the semisses (Pl. VIII. 3, 4) provide the answer. On those with Constantine and Leo III only, it is Constantine who holds the cross potent on globe which identifies the denomination, and itistherefore he who occupies the reverse; on those with Constantine, Leo IV, and Leo III, it is the last of these who performs the same function and thus marks the reverse, Further, if the solidi are examined carefully, it will be found that while the two emperors hold the same symbol, across potent on base, they hold it differently. Leo’s hand passes in front of the shaft of the cross as if he were holding it inwardly, toward himself; Constantine holds it from behind, his thumb upright against the inner side of the shaft,asifhewere holding thecros outward, toward the spectator. This is essentially how Constantine holds the cross potent on globe of the semisis, and was apparently intended to differentiate between the cross as an imperial symbol and the cross as a mark of value. When held as a mark of value it indicates the reverse of the coin.

The mints of Constantine V are essentially those of Leo III,but Ravenna was active during only the first decade of the reign and the attribution of coins to Naples is highly conjectural. The coinage of the western provinces remained quite separate from that of the eastern, with mainland Italy characterized by badly debased gold and the continued use of the tremisis, Sicily by an abundant copper coinage quite distinct in design from that of the capital. Italy also differed from Constantinople in continuing to strike tiny silver coins of the traditional pattern, probably in very inadequate quantities, instead of adopting the large, thin miliaresia now coming into use in the East.

CONSTANTINOPLE

SOLIDI. Two classes of solidi were struck during the reign. Both have on one side the bust of Leo III, but Class I (741-51) has on the other the bust of Constantine V only, Class II (751-75) the busts of Constantine V and Leo IV. Each can be further broken down, and some of the details require comment.

In Class I the two emperors are dressed alike and bear the same insignia, across potent on base and an akakia. We have seen above that the different ways in which the cross potent is held mark the distinction between the obverse and the reverse of the coin. The class can be conveniently subdivided into Class Ia, with an officina letter following the obverse inscription, and Ib, without one, Ia being the earlier in date of the two. The only officina letters known to me are H, Θ, and I, but others may well exist. The obverse inscription on Class Ia invariably begins δN, i.e. the traditional DN (Dominus Noster), while on Class Ib the δ is usually absent, so that the inscription reads NC ON STANTINЧS (or variant), but occasionally it is replaced by a meaningless I, O, or even B. Some coins without officina letters, however, have δN, and I doubt if the division into Classes Ia and Ib represents any real distinction between “isues”; it is rather a device of numismatic convenience for placing the coins in approximate order of issue. Some coins with initial δN have the final S of Constantine's name either followed or replaced by NC or ΘC, often ligatured (NC, ΘC), like the NC which precedes Constantine's name on some solidi of Leo III's Class III (above, p.246, No. 7f). I have treated these as meaningful variants in the text of the catalogue, though I can offer no explanation for them. N (for Z) and Θ are possible oficina letters, and a C had followed the officina letter on some solidi of Theodosius III and Leo III, but one would not expect an officina letter after Constantine’s name. There are, in addition to the variants occurring in the standard works, others, such as the frequent blundering of the end of Constantine’s name, which might be noted, but they are probably no more than die-sinker’s errors and of no consequence. The dropping of the δ from δN, leaving only a now meaningless N, is sufficient evidence that the workmen had little understanding of what they were inscribing on their dies.

The issue of Class II was spread over nearly twenty-five years. The obverse shows the two busts of Constantine V and Leo IV, each wearing chlamys and carrying no insignia, and the reverse has a redesigned bust of Leo III, this time wearing a loros and holding toward the spectator a cross potent on base. The inscriptions are invariable: CONSTANTINOS S LЄON O NЄOS, i.e. Κωνσταντῖνος καὶ Λέων ὁ νέoς, and δLЄON PA MЧL, the letter N having consistently the form N on the obverse and N on the reverse. There are two sub-classes, which succeed each other chronologically but can be only approximately dated. Class Ia (751-c.757) has both busts on the obverse small, but Leo IV is still an infant and smaller than Constantine. The only “oficina” letters used are Θ (common) and A (very rare), but often there is none at all. Class IIb (c.757-75) is less homogeneous. The busts are much closer to each other in size, but on some specimens both are medium in size and on others, presumably the latest in date, they are very large and the inscription is usually partly off flan. No sharp distinction, however, can be made between the two groups. The “oficina” letters that occur are Φ (medium busts and large busts) and B (large busts only), the later being a B on a flatbase of a kind often found in eighth and ninth-century inscriptions, but many specimens have no letter at all. The appearance of the letter Φ, which had never occurred in the traditional pattern of officina letters, control marks whose exact significance is unknown. The status of the Θ of Clas Ila is ambiguous; it may be a survival of the Θ of Class I and still an officina letter of the old type, or it may belong to the new patern, in which Θ was to recur quite frequently in the future.

FRACTIONAL GOLD This is virtualy non existent; its disappearance is one of the major novelties in Constantine’s coinage. No tremisses of the mint of Constantinople are known at all; those attributed to it by Wroth (No.12) and Tolstoi (Nos. 9-11) are coins of Leo III's reign (above, p. 249-50, Nos. 16.1, 17.1, 18a.1). This is also true of the semisis, Wroth No. 11 (above, p.247, No. 10). Two types of semisis, however, each known in only a single specimen, were struck, probably for purposes of ceremonial distribution. One belongs to the period of Constantine V's sole reign, and since the form of the inscrip- tion corresponds to that of Class Ia of the solidus, it was probably struck at his ascension. The other is of the joint reign of Constantine V and Leo IV, presumably for the later’s coronation. The two coins are described and illustrated below, Nos. 3, 4.

SILVER COINAGE This requires little comment. The traditional types of ceremonial coin were no longer struck. The miliaresion is of the same general type as that introduced by Leo III, but the design has now become stereotyped and there is nothing corresponding to the minor varieties that occur under this emperor. The nominally ceremonial character of the denomination is shown by the fact of its not being struck prior to Leo IV's asociation as co-emperor in 751. There are no problems of attribution, since the only other Constantine of this period was Constantine VI, whose coins all show him associated with his mother Irene. No half miliaresion is known, and it is probable that none was issued.

COPPER COINAGE Constantine's copper coins are of the traditional denominations, with the customary marks of value, but the decanummia and pentanummia are extremely rare and are not known for the two final issues. The follis was so small, and had probably so low a purchasing power, that the need for fractional coinage was limited. Four classes were struck, each of which raises some problems.

Class 1(Constantine V alone). 741-?. The obverse has a facing bust with inscription, and the reverse a mark of value between three X’s and three N’s, with an officina letter (A or B) beneath. The obverse type is puzzling in that the bust appears to be beardless; it is difficult to be sure, but the face is certainly more rounded and “childish” than the effigy on the gold. The coins are in any case out of step with the solidus in having no reference to Leo III.

The explanation is presumably that the mint carried on without change the type of bust used for Constantine on the last issues of his father’s reign. The other posibility, suggested to me by Mr. Veglery, is that the coins might belong to Constantine VI, who was only a child at his accession and is shown as beardless on his solidi. This seems to me unlikely on several grounds. The design of the bust, and in particular the treatment of the hair, differs from that customary in the 780's; Oficina B still occurs, while by the 780's it had disappeared; and Constantine's coins all show him associated with his mother Irene. In any case these coins of Class 1 could not be fitted into the pattern of Constantine VI's folles, and I see no alternative to making them the first coinage of Constantine V.

Their issue presumably started in 741 and went on until the late 740’s. It can scarcely have ended with the usurpation of Artavasdus, since coins of the following class are so rare. The issue is noteworthy as being the last for which an Oficina B is recorded.

Class 2 (Constantine V alone). ?-751. This has on the obverse a bearded bust, holding across potent on base, and a reverse similar to that of Class 1 save that that of the pentanummium is a simple Є. Here the type of bust conforms to that of the solidus and is what one would expect, but anomalous features of the class are its extreme rarity, the fact that the only denominations known are the half follis and the pentanummium, and the character of the obverse inscription. Instead of the lettering being small and neat, as with Class 1, it is large and mostly off flan, so that the only letters legible on recorded specimens are the last one or two, a T or TA, with a doubtful S before the TA. An attribution of the class to Artavasdus, reading [AR]TA instead of [CONS]TA, is an obvious possibility, but none of Artavasdus’ coins show him holding a cross potent on base, and it seems best, at least provisionally, to attribute the coins to Constantine V. The finding of a better preserved specimen would setle the matter.

Class 3 (with Leo IV). 751-769?. Only folles and half folles are known of this class, and I suspect that no other denominations were struck. The coins have on the obverse the busts of Constantine and Leo IV. The reverse of the folis shows the bust of Leo III above an M flanked by X and N, that of the half follis only a K between three X's and three N’s. The bust of Leo III is evidently omitted because of the small size of the flans. Although there is no obverse inscription, the attribution is not in doubt. The issue presumably began in 751. Its ending, and the introduction of Class 4 with the seated figures of the two emperors, can be conjecturally dated to the ceremonies which accompanied the crowning of Eudocia and the ennobling of other members of Constan- tine’s family at Easter 769 (above, p. 290).

Class 4 (with Leo IV). 769?-775. As with Class 3, only folles and half folles are known. The obverse shows two seated figures. The reverse of the follis continues that of Class 3, while that of the half follis is a K between three N’s and three X’s, with no pretense of an officina letter. The follis is rather larger and heavier than that of Class 3, and may have been intended for a special distribution. The half follis was the last Byzantine coin of this denomination to have the traditional mark of value; later half folles have the M of the follis but are half the size of this coin.

SICILY

Constantine's Sicilian coinage is not altogether easy to understand. It can be identified only by its style, though the mint-mark CIK’ is said to occur on one coin, a rare half follis. No gold coinage is known for the sole reign of Constantine V, a gap that is difficult to explain. Solidi of the period after 751, with the two busts of Constantine and Leo IV on the obverse and that of Leo III on the reverse, are quite common. They are mainly of two varieties, having either no symbol or a Θ in the reverse field; a third, with a labarum in the field, is known in only a single specimen. The coins are of poor fabric, badly rounded, with rough irregular edges, and are of somewhat inferior gold. The busts of the earliest and the latest coins are relatively well designed, but the inscriptions are usually blundered and largely illegible, partly because of the small, ill-formed letters, partly because most of them are off lan.

The solidi present no problems of identification, since the combination of three imperial busts occurs only in the reign of Constantine V. This is not the case with the semisses and tremisses, where there is no room for three busts and the inscriptions are virtually ilegible. The coins here attributed to Constantine V and Leo IV have on one side a bearded bust and on the other a beardless one, the latter accompanied by an inscription which usually seems to include elements of LЄONPAMЧL. This would normally allude to Leo III, not Leo IV, and to complicate matters further the inscriptions seem often to be more or less identical on both sides of the coins. On stylistic grounds the coins could not be as early as Leo III and on material grounds they could not be as late as Leo V, in whose time the emperors are normally termed basileus or despotes. They could, however, be coins of Leo IV and Constantine VI, to whom no Sicilian gold is usually attributed. Since they are so close stylistically to the solidi of Constantine V, however, I have in the end preferred to keep them together under this ruler (Nos. 16-17), but am not altogether convinced that it is to him that they will be finally assigned.

The copper coinage of the reign is common, and follows the same pattern as that of Leo III. Coins of 741-51 have the half-figure of Constantine on one face and that of Leo III on the other; they can be distinguished from that of Leo III’s reign only by the fact that both the faces are bearded. The folles of 751-75 have the two busts of Constantine and Leo IV on one face, the standing figure of Leo III on the other. There is also a very rare half follis (No. 20) having on the obverse two busts above a line with CIK’ (?) beneath, on the reverse a single bust above a line with Λ (for Λέων, i.e. Leo III) beneath. The reading CIK’ is given by Ricotti from a specimen in his own collection, but this is not illustrated, and on the specimen at Dumbarton Oaks the letters are not clear. Both denomination and type are unusual, but a coin of a related type, with a quite legible CIK’, was struck under Leo IV (below, p.334, No. 8).

NAPLES (?)

A few Italian coins exist which cannot be attributed to Sicily, Rome, or Ravenna. One group of them is attributed conjecturally to Naples in the catalogue (Nos. 21-24). The solidus (No. 21) and follis (No. 24) seem stylistically to come from a single mint, and to be linked with a solidus struck in copper which is copied from one of Rome (No.22). I have added to these a curious silver coin (No. 23) which has some affinities with the copper; though the bust is copied from that of a silver coin of Rome, the treatment of the hair is diferent from that found on coins of the later mint. The quality of the gold of the solidus, however, is much better than had been usual for Neapolitan coins in the past, and it may well be that these attributions will not stand up to further research.

ROME

The coinage of Rome in the name of Constantine V closely resembles that of his father. Virtually the only denominations struck were solidi and tremisses, and as under Leo III the two were identical in type, differing from each other simply in size and weight. The earliest coins are of poor quality electrum, perhaps about eight carats fine. The later cones are of base silver, copper, or potin, apparently with no gold content at all. Even if they were once gilded or plated it is difficult to see how they can have ever served an economic purpose.

All the coins have letters in the reverse field, some of these including the initial of Rome — ⁕R, R, RM, RI — and some apparently serving as numerals: B, Γ, Δ, IⲀ, IΔ (accompanied by two stars), IЄ. Since the highest numeral-letter is 15, as it had been under Leo III, one’s natural inclination is to interpret them as indictions. An arrangement of the coins on this basis, however, runs in some respects contrary to what one would arrive at by grouping together those having other features incommon—trefoils instead of crosses on the crowns, a blundered mixture of chlamys and loros, a laddered V-shaped pattern on the pendants of the fibulae—and does not take account of the coins having no letter-numerals at all. There must be, in any case, coins still to be discovered, both missing denominations—solidi with B where we have tremisses, tremisses with Γ where we have solidi—and letter-numerals not at present represented at all. The order given in the catalogue, therefore, must be regarded as no more than provisional, with only the beginning—coins identical in portrait with those of Artavasdus and the later years of Leo III—and the end—coins with the same portrait as that used under Leo IV—at all certain.

Small silver coins having on the reverse a monogram of K (for Κωνσταντῖνος) and a cross are also customarily attributed to Rome. Although the portrait does not very closely resemble that of the “gold” they are more likely to belong to Rome than to any other mint.

RAVENNA

The coinage of this mint necessarily belongs to the first decade of the reign, before the coronation of Leo IV as co-emperor, since the city was captured by the Lombard King Aistulf in or shortly before 751. Its known coinage consists entirely of tremisses, though since Aistulf also struck solidi and foles itisprobable that these denominations remain to be found. The tremisses are of distinctive style and fabric, and since in both particulars they resemble the coins of Aistulf, their mint is not in doubt. They are of poor metal, heavily alloyed with silver and often blackened on the surface with silver sulfide, so that specimens have usually been described as silver instead of as electrum or gold. They have rough irregular edges and the flans are always smaller than the dies, so that the inscriptions are mostly off flan.The normal obverse type is a bust of Constantine V, but this is preceded by one, stylistically rather different, having the busts of Constantine and his father side by side, Constantine being beardless but occupying the place of honor on the spectator's left. The design resembles that subsequently used for Class II of the gold coins of Rome and may have provided the model for it (cf. Nos. 27 and 45 on Pl. XI). The reverse type of all the tremisses is a cross potent on base, with an indictional date-letter in the field such as we find on the coins of Aistulf. Three dates are known for certain, 1Δ (14), IЄ (15), and A (1), i.e. A.D. 745/6, 746/7, and 747/8, and there is a possible B (i.e. 2 A.D. 748/9). On one coin of the year 747/8 the A is surmounted by a cross, the significance of which is unknown.

UNCERTAIN ITALIAN MINTS

As one consequence of the continued decline of Byzantine power in Italy, there are fewer unattributable coins of Constantine V than of Leo III. I have put under this heading a tremisis which fits into no obvious category (No.51) and a copper or billon coin (No. 52) with across potent reverse which has no obvious affinities with anything else struck during the reign.

(from DOC vol. lll)

Coinage