Byzantine mints
The
History
The original Roman mint network was reorganized and centralized by Emperor Diocletian (r. 284–305– ) at the end of the 3rd century, parallel to the restructuring of the Roman Empire's provincial and fiscal administration. The mints were limited to one per diocese (except for a few exceptions) and placed under the dual control of the praetorian prefectures and the comes sacrarum largitionum.[1][2] During the next two centuries, some mints were closed and others opened as fiscal necessity or administrative changes dictated. In addition, the various emperors had mints attached to their retinue (comitatus) which followed them on their journeys and campaigns throughout the Roman Empire. After a law promulgated in 366/369, the minting of precious-metal coins was confined to these comitatensian mints, operating either from a permanent base or by making use of the regional mints nearest to the current location of the emperor and his comitatus. Otherwise, regional mints were mostly limited to issuing base-metal coins.[3]
During the course of the 5th century, the Roman minting system collapsed. The
The territorial losses of the early 7th century, with the
With the
List (principal mints in bold)
Location | Attested activity | Mint mark | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Adrianople
|
1354–1356 | Active as a mint for the co-emperor Didymoteichon is an alternative site.[13]
| |
Alexandretta
|
609–610 | ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔ | Active during Heraclius's (r. 610–641– ) revolt against Phocas (r. 602–610– ).[14] |
Alexandria | Before 330 to after 475, c. 525–646 | ΑΛΕΞ, ΑΛΞΟΒ | Active from before Diocletian (r. 284–305– ) to the reign of Zeno (r. 475–491– ) as the mint of the |
Antioch | Before 330 to after 475, c. 512–610 | ΑΝ, ΑΝΤΙΚ, ΑΝΤΧ; THEUP, THEUPO, ΘVΠOΛS | Active from before Diocletian (r. 284–305– ) to the reign of Zeno (r. 475–491– ) as the mint of the Diocese of the East.[15] Re-established by Anastasius I (r. 491–518– ). Renamed to Theoupolis (Greek: Θεούπολις, "City of God") after the 526 earthquake.[16] No coins are attested after 610, its establishment having probably been transferred to Jerusalem (see below).[17] |
Arta | c. 1204–1271 | Main mint for the Despotate of Epirus. Attribution is conjectural but probable, as Arta was the capital of Epirus.[16][18] | |
Carthage | 533 – c. 695 | CAR, KAR, KART, CT, CRTG, KRTG | Established by Diocletian (r. 284–305– ) c. 296 but suppressed in 307 and its staff transferred to Ostia.[19] A new mint was established by the Vandals there, and was taken over by the Byzantines in 533. Struck a distinct style of compact, globular solidi from 610-695. Extant until c. 695, when it was moved to Sardinia before the threat of Arab conquest.[14][20] |
Carthagena | c. 560–624 | Active in southern Spain until the fall of the last Byzantine strongholds to the Visigoths in c. 624.[14][21] | |
Catania | c. 582–629 | CAT | Established in 582/583 and last coinage attested in 628/629.[14][22] |
Cherson
|
6th century, late 9th – early 11th centuries | ΧΕΡCWΝΟC, ΧΕΡCΟΝΟC, | Active under Justinian I (r. 527–565– ), Maurice (r. 582–602– ), and from the reign of Basil I (r. 867–886– ) to Basil II (r. 976–1025– ).[23] |
Constantia in Cyprus | 610 and c. 626–629 | ΚΥΠΡΟV, ΚΥΠΡΕ, KYΠΡ, CΠΡ | Active during Heraclius's revolt and again in 626–629, chiefly to cover military needs.[14][24] |
Constantina in Numidia | 540/541–592/593 | CON | Only sporadically active,[14] attribution now generally dismissed.[25] |
Constantinople | 330–1204, 1261–1453 | CON, CONOB, CONOS, COB | Main mint throughout the Byzantine era, except for the period where it functioned as the mint of the Latin Empire (1204–1261).[23] |
Cyzicus | 518–629 | KYZ, KY | Active since before Diocletian (r. 284–305– ), who made it the mint for the |
Isaura | 617/618–618/619 | ISAYR | Established to cover military needs in the |
Jerusalem | 608–614/615 | ΙΠ, ΙΧ, IEΡOCO, XC NIKA | Established in 608/609 during Heraclius's revolt by |
Magnesia | 1214–1261 | Main mint and treasury of the Empire of Nicaea after the transfer of the Nicaea mint there.[29][30] | |
Naples | After c. 661 to c. 830–840 | NE | Active from the reign of Constantine IV (r. 641–685– ), probably after c. 661/662 when it became the seat of a doux, to Theophilos (r. 829–842– ). Effectively outside imperial control as the doux became increasingly independent.[31] |
Nicaea
|
c. 1208–1214 | Main mint of the | |
Nicomedia | 498–627 | NIK, NIKO, NIC, NIKM, NIKOMI, NI | Established by Diocletian (r. 284–305– ) c. 294 for the |
Nicosia | 1184–1191 | Main mint of the usurper Isaac Komnenos. Other mints were also established on the island of Cyprus.[29][34] | |
Perugia | 552/553 | P | Attribution conjectural,[14] now generally dismissed.[25] |
Philadelphia
|
1188–1189, 14th century | ΦΛΔΦ | First coinage during the short-lived usurpation of exclave surrounded by Turkish territory.[36]
|
Philippopolis | 1092 and a few years after | Active during the early years of the monetary reforms of | |
Ravenna | c. 540 to early 8th century | RAV, RA, RAB, RAVEN, RAVENNA | Active from conquest by Lombard kingdom in 751.[38]
|
Rhodes | c. 1232 to c. 1248 | Local coinage of the two brothers Michael IX until the 1306-1310 CE Hospitaller conquest of Rhodes .
| |
Rome | c. 540 to c. 750 | ROM, ROMA, ROMOB, | Theoretically in operation until c. 751, when Rome and the Pope broke away from Byzantine overlordship, but already under effective papal control from the 7th century.[40] |
Salona | c. 535 and thereafter | Location probable, but not certain; active only during the reign of Justinian I (r. 527–565– ).[16][21] | |
Sardinia | c. 695 to after 717 | S | Established, probably at Cagliari, through the transfer of the mint of Carthage in c. 695, it is attested until the reign of Leo III the Isaurian (r. 717–741– ).[14][41] |
Seleucia Isauria | 615-617 | SELISU, SEL | Established to cover military needs in the |
Syracuse | After 643/644 to 878 | SECILIA, CVΡΑΚΟVCI | Active from c. 643/644 to its fall to the Arabs in 878, sometimes supplemented by Catania. Prior to that, coins struck at Constantinople were transferred to the island where they were marked SC[L].[23][42] |
Thebes | Second half of the 12th century | Attribution is conjectural, it concerns a mint established to mint half-tetartera for the joint themes of Hellas and the Peloponnese. Corinth and Athens are alternative proposed sites. Solidly attested from the reign of Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180– ) until the first reign of Isaac II Angelos (r. 1185–1195– ), it may have been established as early as c. 1092.[16][43] | |
Thessalonica
|
330–629/630, late 11th to mid-14th centuries | TES, ΘΕC, ΘΕS, THESSOB, TESOB, THSOB | Active from before Diocletian (r. 284–305– ), who made it the mint of the Diocese of Moesia. Later, it was the main mint for the Diocese of Macedonia and the praetorian prefecture of Illyricum, until 629/630.[16][44] Reactivated by Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118– ). From 1204 to 1224, it was active as the mint of the
Latin Kingdom of Thessalonica, from then until the Nicaean conquest in 1246 as the mint of the Empire of Thessalonica. Last identifiable coins are dated to 1369–1387.[45]
|
Trebizond | Late 11th to mid-12th centuries, c. 1230–1461 | Local issue by the Gabras family, semi-independent rulers of Chaldia in the late 11th/early 12th century.[34] From the reign of Andronikos I Megas Komnenos (r. 1222–1235– ) on it was the seat of the mint for the Empire of Trebizond (1204–1461).[46] |
References
- ^ a b c ODB, "Mints" (P. Grierson), pp. 1376–1377.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 378–380.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 380–394.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 395–397.
- ^ a b c Sear, Bendall & O'Hara 1987, p. 19.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 397–398.
- ^ Hendy 1989, p. 89.
- ^ Grierson 1999, p. 5.
- ^ Hendy 1985, p. 415.
- ^ Sear, Bendall & O'Hara 1987, pp. 19, 21.
- ^ Grierson 1999, p. 6.
- ^ Sear, Bendall & O'Hara 1987, p. 21.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 446–447.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Sear, Bendall & O'Hara 1987, pp. 19, 22.
- ^ a b Hendy 1985, pp. 378, 397.
- ^ a b c d e Sear, Bendall & O'Hara 1987, p. 22.
- ^ Hendy 1985, p. 416.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 445, 523–524.
- ^ a b Hendy 1985, pp. 379–381.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 399, 422.
- ^ a b Hendy 1985, p. 405.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 406–407, 418.
- ^ a b c d e Sear, Bendall & O'Hara 1987, pp. 19, 21–22.
- ^ a b Hendy 1985, pp. 415–416.
- ^ a b Hendy 1985, p. 406 (Note #150).
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 378–379, 381.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 416–418.
- ^ a b Hendy 1985, pp. 416.
- ^ a b c d Sear, Bendall & O'Hara 1987, pp. 21–22.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 443–444.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 421–423.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 443–445.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 415–418.
- ^ a b Hendy 1985, p. 438.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 438–439.
- ^ Hendy 1985, p. 446.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 434–435.
- ^ Hendy 1985, p. 422.
- ^ Hendy 1985, p. 525.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 422–423.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 422, 424.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 418–419, 421–423.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 435, 437.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 379–380, 400, 417.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 446, 523–524.
- ^ Hendy 1985, pp. 445, 522–523.
Sources
- Grierson, Philip (1982). Byzantine Coins. London: Methuen. ISBN 978-0-416-71360-2.
- Grierson, Philip (1999). Byzantine Coinage (PDF). Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 978-0-88402-274-9. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2011-02-10.
- Hendy, Michael F. (1985). Studies in the Byzantine Monetary Economy c. 300–1450. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24715-2.
- Hendy, Michael F. (1989). The Economy, Fiscal Administration and Coinage of Byzantium. London: Variorum Reprints. ISBN 0-86078-253-0.
- ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
- Sear, David R.; Bendall, Simon; O'Hara, Michael Dennis (1987). Byzantine Coins and their Values. London: Seaby. ISBN 9780900652714.