COINS OF JUSTINIAN THE GREAT

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V27 2024 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 27, Number 15, April 14, 2024, Article 18

Mike Markowitz published a CoinWeek article on the coins of Justinian the Great. Here's an excerpt - see the complete article online. -Editor

Born to a peasant family in what is now North Macedonia about the year 482 CE, Justinian earned his epithet the Great as a conqueror, a builder, an administrator, and, according to some contemporaries, a monster. The coinage of his long reign (527-565 CE) illustrates his extraordinary career.

Justinian I. 527-565. Gold Solidus Alexandria mint. Struck circa 527-538. unpublished in standard references. Possibly only the sixth known. 22mm, 4.45 g. Image: CNG.

Among the rarest collectible gold coins of Justinian are solidi minted at Alexandria in Egypt. These are distinguished by the mint mark ALEXAOB. The OB stands for obryzum, a technical term for highly refined gold. Less than a dozen of these coins are known. In 2017, an example graded as Superb EF brought $85,000 at auction.

An enigmatic and poorly understood group of gold coins are the lightweight solidi, which first appear during the reign of Justinian and continue for about a century. These are often found outside the boundaries of the Empire, and they may have been intended for use in foreign trade, as diplomatic gifts, or as bribes to barbarian chieftains. The standard solidus weighed 24 siliquae. A siliqua was originally the weight of one seed of the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua, about 0.2 grams). Large quantities of lightweight solidi were issued at standards of 20 and 22 siliquae–in effect, discounted by one sixth and one twelfth, respectively. Various mint marks were used to distinguish these issues, typically OBXX for the 20 and OB*+* for the 22 siliqua types.

Justinian I. 527-565. Pair of Gilt Electrotypes of Constantinople mint 36 Solidi Medal. Made from the original sulfur cast in the British Museum of the now lost original from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Image: CNG.

Justinian's most spectacular coin no longer exists. This gold medallion of 36 solidi was 85 mm (3.35 inches) in diameter and would have weighed about 162 grams (5.2 troy ounces!) when it was struck.

Created as a presentation piece for high officials, it celebrates the reconquest of North Africa from the Vandals in 534. On the reverse, the winged figure of Victory leads a horse ridden by the emperor in military garb. The inscription SALVS ET GLORIA ROMANORVM hails the well-being and glory of the Romans. The unique example was found in 1751 near Caesarea in Anatolia and acquired for the French royal collection. Stolen in 1831, it was melted down, but the British Museum preserved a cast in sulfur and high-fidelity gilded electrotype copies of the obverse and reverse were made. One of these museum replicas brought $16,000 in a 2022 U.S. auction.

To read the complete article, see:
Coins of Justinian the Great (https://coinweek.com/justinian-the-great-ancient-byzantine-coins/)