Michael VII

CATALOGUE

SEAR

ARMENIAN

COINS

EMPERORS

ANONYMOUS

FOLLIS

ARAB-BYZANTINE

COINS

Michael

Intro ...

(1071-1078)

CONSTANTINOPLE

Michael VII (1071-1078). AV or El Histamenon nomisma. Constantinople mint. Sear 1868.

Obv: Bust of Christ facing, wearing nimbus cruciger, pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction, holding book of Gospels in left; on either side, ıc—xc (rarely also with pellets in upper field to left and right); double border.

Rev: + ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ ʀᴀᴄıᴧ ᴏ Δ (or very similar). Bust facing, bearded, wearing crown and loros, and holding labarum (sometimes with pellet on shaft) and globus cruciger; double border.

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Michael VII (1071-1078). AV or El Histamenon nomisma. Constantinople mint. Sear 1869.

Obv: Christ enthroned facing, wearing nimbus cruciger, pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction, holding book of Gospels in left; on either side, ıc—xc (rarely also with pellets in upper field to left and right); double border.

Rev: + ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ ʀᴀᴄıᴧ ᴏ Δ (or very similar). Bust facing, bearded, wearing crown and loros, and holding labarum (sometimes with pellet on shaft) and globus cruciger (the cross is composed of four pellets); double border.

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Michael VII (1071-1078). AV or El Histamenon nomisma. Constantinople mint. Sear 1869ᴀ.

Obv: Christ enthroned facing, wearing pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction, holding book of Gospels in left; on either side, ıc—xc (rarely also with pellets in upper field to left and right); double border.

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Michael VII (1071-1078). AV or El Tetarteron nomisma. Constantinople mint. Sear 1870.

Obv: + ⲑᴋє ʀᴏʜⲑ. Bust of the Virgin facing, wearing pallium and maphorium; holding before her the the infant Christ (nimbate head facing); on either side, ᴍᴘ—ⲑᴠ.

Rev: + ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ ꜱ ᴍᴀᴘıᴀ (or ᴍᴀʀıᴀ). Facing busts of Michael, bearded (left), and Maria (right) both crowned, holding between them long cross with plain shaft; Michael is wearing loros, the empress a jewelled robe with broad collar.

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Michael VII (1071-1078). AV or El Tetarteron nomisma. Constantinople mint. Sear 1871.

Obv: + ⲑᴋє ʀᴏʜⲑ. Bust of the Virgin facing, wearing pallium and maphorium; holding before her the the infant Christ (nimbate head facing); on either side, ᴍᴘ—ⲑᴠ.

Rev: + ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ ꜱ ᴍᴀᴘıᴀ (or ᴍᴀʀıᴀ). Facing busts of Michael, bearded (left), and Maria (right) both crowned, holding between them long cross ornamented with X; Michael is wearing loros, the empress a jewelled robe with broad collar.

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Michael VII (1071-1078). AV or El Tetarteron nomisma. Constantinople mint. Sear 1872.

Obv: + ⲑᴋє ʀᴏʜⲑєı + (or ʀʜⲑєı). Bust of the Virgin facing, nimbate, wearing pallium and maphorium; holding before her the the infant Christ (nimbate head facing); on either side, ᴍᴘ—ⲑᴠ; sometimes with uncertain wedge-shaped symbol on either side of nimbus.

Rev: + ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ ꜱ ᴍᴀᴘıᴀ (or ᴍᴀʀıᴀ). Facing busts of Michael, bearded (left), and Maria (right) both crowned, holding between them long cross (ornamented with X and pellet within crescent); Michael is wearing loros, the empress a jewelled robe with broad collar.

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Michael VII (1071-1078). AR Miliaresion. Constantinople mint. Sear 1873.

Obv: + ⲑᴋє ʀᴏʜⲑєı ᴛω ᴄω Δᴏᴠᴧω (or very similar). The Virgin orans standing facing on footstool, nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium; in field on either side, ᴍᴘ—ⲑᴠ; double border.

Rev: + ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ ʀᴀcıᴧ ᴏ Δᴋ (or very similar). Michael, bearded, standing facing, wearing crown and military attire (consisting of cuirass, tunic, cloak and high boots); he is holding long cross on right hand, and resting left on sheath containing sword; sometimes with pellet in field, either beneath emperor’s right elbow, or to left of his right leg; double border.

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Michael VII (1071-1078). AR Miliaresion. Constantinople mint. Sear 1874.

Obv: єɴ ᴛᴏᴠᴛω ɴıᴋᴀᴛє ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ ᴋᴀı ᴍᴀᴘıᴀ (or very similar, sometimes ꜱ for ᴋᴀı). Cross crosslet on globus resting on three steps; at center of cross, X; on shaft, pellet within crescent; in field to left, facing bust of Michael, bearded, wearing crown and jewelled chlamys; to right, facing bust of Maria, wearing crown and loros; triple border.

Rev: ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ / ᴋᴀı ᴍᴀᴘıᴀ / ⲡıᴄᴛᴏı (or ⲡıᴄᴛıᴏı ) ʀᴀ / cıᴧєıᴄ (or cıᴧʜᴄ) ᴘω / ᴍᴀıωɴ (sometimes followed by pellet) in five lines; above, — + — or — · —; beneath, — · — ; triple border.

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Michael VII (1071-1078). AR ⅔ Miliaresion. Constantinople mint. Sear 1875.

Obv: Christ enthroned facing, wearing nimbus cruciger, pallium and colobium, and raising right hand in benediction, in left hand book of Gospels; in field on either side, ıc—xc.

Rev: + ᴋє ʀⲑ / ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ / Δєcⲡᴏᴛʜ / ᴛω Δᴏᴠ / — ᴋᴀ — in five lines; above, — · — .

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Michael VII (1071-1078). AR ⅔ Miliaresion. Constantinople mint. Sear 1875ᴀ.

Obv: Christ enthroned facing, wearing nimbus cruciger, pallium and colobium, and raising right hand in benediction, in left hand book of Gospels; in field on either side, ıc—xc; in upper field on either side, uncertain wedge-shaped symbol.

Rev: + ᴋє ʀⲑ / ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ / Δєcⲡᴏᴛʜ / ᴛω Δᴏᴠᴋᴀ in four lines; above, — + — ; beneath, — · — .

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Michael VII (1071-1078). AR ⅔ Miliaresion. Constantinople mint. Sear 1876.

Obv: Bust of the Virgin facing, nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium; holding before her the the infant Christ (nimbate head facing); in field on either side, ᴍᴘ—ⲑᴠ; usually with pellet on either side of nimbus.

Rev: + ⲑᴋє / ʀᴏʜⲑєı / ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ / Δєcⲡᴏᴛʜ / ᴛω Δ૪ᴋᴀ in five lines; beneath, — · — .

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Michael VII (1071-1078). AR ⅔ Miliaresion. Constantinople mint. Sear 1876ᴀ.

Obv: Bust of the Virgin facing, nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium; holding before her the the infant Christ (nimbate head facing); in field on either side, ᴍᴘ—ⲑᴠ; on either side of nimbus, pelleted cross (or uncertain wedge-shaped symbol).

Rev: ⲑᴋє ʀⲑ / ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ / Δєcⲡᴏᴛʜ / ᴛω Δᴏᴠ / — ᴋᴀ — in five lines; above, — + — .

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Michael VII (1071-1078). AR ⅔ Miliaresion. Constantinople mint. Sear 1876ʙ.

Rev: ⲑᴋє ʀⲑ / ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ / Δєcⲡᴏᴛʜ / ᴛω Δᴏᴠ / — ᴋᴀ — in five lines; above, — + — .

I’m not sure about this one, is the obverse correct? Does it also have this legend?

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Michael VII (1071-1078). AR ⅓ Miliaresion. Constantinople mint. Sear 1877.

Obv: Bust of Christ facing, nimbate, wearing pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction, holding book of Gospels in left; on either side, ıc—xc.

Rev: + ᴋє ʀⲑ / ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ / Δєcⲡᴏᴛʜ / ᴛω Δᴏᴠ / — ᴋᴀ — (or · ᴋᴀ ·) in five lines; above, — · — or — .

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Michael VII (1071-1078). AR ⅓ Miliaresion. Constantinople mint. Sear 1877ᴀ.

Obv: Facing bust of the Virgin orans, nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium; on either side, ᴍᴘ—ⲑᴠ.

Rev: + ᴋє ʀⲑ / ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ / Δєcⲡᴏᴛʜ / ᴛω Δᴏᴠ / — ᴋᴀ — (or · ᴋᴀ ·) in five lines; above, — + — .

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Michael VII (1071-1078). Æ Follis. Constantinople mint. Sear 1878.

Obv: No legend. Bust of Christ facing, cross behind head, wearing pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction, and holding book of Gospels in left; in field above transverse limbs of cross, ıc—xc; beneath limbs, large star on either side of bust.

Rev: + ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ ʀᴀcıᴧ ᴏ Δ. Bust facing, bearded, wearing crown and loros, and holding labarum and globus cruciger.

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Michael VII (1071-1078). Æ Follis. Constantinople mint. Sear 1879.

Obv: No legend. Bust of Christ facing, cross behind head, wearing pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction, and holding book of Gospels in left; in field above transverse limbs of cross, large star on either side; beneath limbs, ıc—xc.

Rev: + ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ ʀᴀcıᴧ ᴏ Δ. Bust facing, bearded, wearing crown and loros, and holding labarum and globus cruciger.

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Michael VII (1071-1078). Æ Follis. Constantinople mint. Sear 1880.

Obv: No legend. Bust of Christ facing, wearing nimbus cruciger, pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction, holding book of Gospels in left; in field to left, ıc; to right, xc [ıc and xc have lines above].

Rev: Patriarchal cross, with globule and two pellets at each extremity; in lower field, on either side, floral ornament.

Notes: Anonymous Follis Class H.

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Michael VII (1071-1078). Æ Half follis. Constantinople mint. Sear 1880ᴀ.

Rev: + ᴍıxᴀʜᴧ ʀᴀcıᴧ ᴏ Δ. Bust facing, bearded, wearing crown and loros, and holding labarum and globus cruciger.

Notes: same type as the follis SB 1878, but struck on smaller flans.

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BACKGROUND AND CHRONOLOGY

Michael's early career has already been described. He was associated Augustus with his father and younger brother in or soon after 1060 and was given the place of honor on the histamena struck by his stepfather Romanus IV between 1067 and 1071. In October 1071 he dispatched his mother Eudocia to a monastery and seized supreme power.

Psellus has little but praise for the good qualities of his erstwhile pupil, but in every respect Michael's reign was a disaster. He was incapable of dealing with the military problems that beset the Empire, and the reputation which gave him the nickname of Parapinaces, “Peckfilcher,” coupled with the debasement of the coinage during his reign, throws light on his own contribution to its economic troubles. After six years of reign he was faced with revolts in both east and west. In October 1077 Nicephorus Botaniates, an elderly general, revolted in Asia Minor, to be followed almost immediately by Nicephorus Bryennius in Thrace. Bryennius laid siege to Constantinople without success in December, and in the New Year the initiative passed to Botaniates. By 7 January he had obtained sufficient support in the capital for part of the congregation in Saint Sophia to create a disturbance in his favor. In March he occupied Nicaea, where on the Feast of the Annunciation (25 March) he was proclaimed emperor in the presence of the patriarch of Antioch and other notables.t Michael had no heart for resistance. On 31 March 1078 he abdicated in favor of his brother the Porphyrogenitus Constantius and retired first to Blachernae and then to Studion, where he assumed the monastic habit. Constantius refused to accept the throne and in company with Alexius Comnenus, another possible candidate for supreme office, made his submission to Botaniates, who crossed the Bosphorus and entered the capital on the Tuesday of Holy Week, 3 April 1078. He was immediately crowned by the Patriarch Cosmas.

COINAGE: MAIN Features

Michael VII did not, at least in theory, rule alone. His brothers Andronicus and Constantius were co-emperors from the start, Andronicus down to his death sometime between 1074 and 1077, Constantius throughout the reign, while his son Constantine was raised to the imperial dignity shortly after his birth in 1074. None of them was recognized in the coinage, despite the fact that Constantius had figured on histamena since 1067 and ‘Andronicus since 1068. Michael’s wife Maria of Alania (Georgia) appears on his tetartera and on one type of his miliaresion. This ran contrary to the tradition of recent centuries which gave no such right to the consorts of Byzantine emperors, and does not fit in with what Psellus tells us of her shy and retiring disposition,*® but in his exclusion of co- emperors and admission of his wife Michael was doing no more than following the example of his father, who had associated his wife but not his children with him on the coins. In each case the histamenon was reserved for the autocrator alone.

Michael VII, like Louis XVI of France, was a ruler of practical interests, but, instead of repairing clocks, he occupied himself with the work of the mint. Psellus praises him for his specialized knowledge of this institution. “He had an understanding of the whole system of government expenses and revenue, both of payments from the public funds to individuals and of contributions by the public to the treasury. He knew all about the making of coins, the equilibrium of the balance and how much they should weigh, what was their permissible remedy, how the alloy was manufactured and what proportion of gold the coins should contain.”! His experience in such matters presumably played a role in the fate of the coinage, although the misfortunes of his reign, with constant military revolts, the Seljuq devastation of Asia Minor in the years after Manzikert, the loss of Byzantine Italy, and the Norman advance across the Adriatic into the Balkans, must all have contributed to the difficulties of the treasury. Michael inherited a nomisma about sixteen carats fine. It was in the course of a few years reduced to about twelve carats in the case of the histamenon, and ten carats or less in that of the tetarteron. Specimens of Class III of the latter are of such poor metal that Dieudonné published one in the Bibliothèque Nationale as being of silver.

GOLD COINAGE. The nomismata of Michael VII are recognizable both by their concave form and by the poor quality of their gold, which separates them from the coins of earlier Michaels, and by the fact that the obverse legend normally ends OΔ, i.e. o Δoυκας. They form two classes. Both have the same reverse, a facing bust of the emperor with scepter and globus cruciger, but different obverses: either Christ seated or a bust of Christ. Class I, with the seated Christ, is of noticeably better gold than the other, but is extremely rare, which may account for the absence of any specimens in a small hoard from the Dobrudja that bridges the two reigns of Romanus IV and Michael VII. On Class II Wroth called attention to two varieties in the decoration of the cover of the Gospel Book held by Christ, but the pattern of variations is in fact more complicated: ⚄ or ⚄ in the arms of the cross in Christ’s nimbus, ⚄ or ⚄ on the Gospel Book, ⚄ or ⚄ on the labarum, and the shaft of the labarum with or without a pellet. It is clear that the main division is that between the plain and the pelleted labarum shaft, for the plain shaft is normally associated with ⚄ on the book and the pelleted shaft invariably, at least so far as my records go, with ⚄ . The normal nimbus and labarum ornament in both groups is ⚄, ⚄ occurring only rarely.

The tetartera of Michael VII form three classes. All are essentially of the same type: on the obverse a bust of the Virgin holding a medallion of Christ, on the reverse the facing busts of the emperor and empress, Michael and Maria, holding between them a cross. But they differ in detail:

I. Obv. +ΘKЄ BOHΘ Virgin without nimbus. Pellet in limbs of cross in nimbus of infant Christ.

Rev. Shaft of cross without ornaments.
II. Obv. As before, but no pellet in nimbus of Christ.

Rev. Shaft of cross ornamented with X.

III. Obv. +ΘKЄBO HΘЄI+ Virgin nimbate, with sometimes a pear-shaped object on either side of the Virgin’s nimbus. Nimbus of Christ variously designed.

The changing color of the gold, coupled with the variations in type, shows that this is the order of issue, though the differences between Class III and the others, combined with the fact that the cross and crescent ornaments on the staff correspond to those on one class of the miliaresia, make it possible that this was a parallel issue to the others, but of lower value. The poor quality of the gold in all three precludes the possibility of transferring any of them to Michael VI, as one scholar suggested and as would seem reasonable on general grounds. The name of Michael VI’s wife is unknown, and it could well have been Maria, but it is clear that all the coins belong to Michael VII. The existence of blundered specimens of Class III, with the positions of the sovereigns interchanged and Maria on the left, Michael on the right, has been noted and discussed already.

SILVER COINAGE. The silver coinage of Michael VII is of some complexity. The metal is always of poor quality, so that even where the exact weight of a coin can be ascertained— most specimens are pierced or broken—this throws little light on its value or denomination. The sizes of the coins, however, suggest that they fit into the established pattern of full, two-thirds, and one-third miliaresia.

The full miliaresia are of two classes, one flat and the other concave. Class I revives a type of Constantine X and Eudocia, which in turn had revived that of Basil II and Constantine VIII, thus conforming to what one may call the traditional miliaresion pattern. Class II revived a type of Constantine IX, itself based on a ceremonial issue of Romanus III, but the coins are now concave in form. Since both Classes I and II are continued by Nicephorus III they were probably parallel and not successive issues, and the fact of one being flat and the other concave suggests a differentiation in value like that suggested earlier for coins of Constantine IX. Of each type there are two varieties, those in Class I being differentiated by — · — or — + — above the reverse inscription, those in Class II by the presence or absence of a conspicuous pellet beneath the right arm of the emperor or beside his right leg.

The two-thirds miliaresia form four classes. Two are of the traditional type—a bust of the Virgin on the obverse and an inscription in several lines on the reverse—but differ in the disposition of the inscription and in the accessory symbols that occur in the field. The third, of which only a single specimen is known, had a design similar to that of the “traditional” miliaresion, which perhaps explains its supersession by a fourth, having on the obverse the seated figure of Christ on a backless throne. This type had not previously occurred on silver.

There are two types of one-third miliaresion, both here published for the first time. They resemble the coins of the same denomination struck under Constantine X and Romanus IV, and have either a bust of the Virgin or a bust of Christ as obverse types.

COPPER COINAGE. The normal type of signed follis has on the reverse a bust of the emperor and on the obverse one of Christ, with a cross behind the head and no nimbus, flanked by IC XC above the lateral arms of the cross and two stars below them. There is a very rare variety with the IC and XC below the arms and the stars above them. There are also a number of lesser varieties, the stars often having the form of a flower, with six “petals” around a central pellet, instead of that of a true “star”, and the Gospel Book held by Christ being sometimes ornamented 𓃑 instead of 𓃑. The bust of Romanus sometimes appears to be half-right instead of fully facing, but this may be only an illusion produced by double striking. The two more definite variations may indicate different mints—Hendy would assign the whole coinage to Thessalonica—or different officinae in a single mint, or be no more than the varying work ofdiferentdie-sinkersorofthesame die-sinker at different times. Such little information as I have been able to collect regarding find-spots does not point to any useful conclusion, and in our present state of ignorance I have attributed the whole coinage to Constantinople.

A novelty in the reign, and indeed in the century, is the existence of what is undoubtedly a half follis, published for the first time below (No. 15). It represents a belated reflection in the copper of the introduction of fractional silver coins some decades earlier, but apparently met with no success and only a single specimen is at present known.

In addition to the signed coins, Group H of the Anonymous Folles can be assigned to Michael VII, though the dates of its issue may not correspond precisely to those of the reign.

(from DOC vol. lll)

Coinage