Category Archives: tremissis

Shadow Emperors: Coins of the Fall of Rome

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. THE ROMAN EMPIRE in the West died not with a bang, but with a whimper. A series of short-lived rulers, mostly puppets of barbarian warlords, presided over the accelerating collapse of a state that had endured for five glorious centuries. The coins issued in the names of […]

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Rare Ancient, Islamic, and European Coins Offered by Numismatica Genevensis

By Numismatica Genevensis SA …… Anyone interested in truly top-class numismatics will have been following Numismatica Genevensis’ auctions for years. They are a pretty rare occurrence, but they always feature numerous coins preserved in the best possible condition. On November 14 and 15, the time has finally come again. Across three auction catalogues, Numismatica Genevensis […]

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The Coins That Aren’t There

By David Yoon for American Numismatic Society (ANS) …… It has long been said that the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. This is an essential principle in archaeology, where the formation of evidence is usually very complex and poorly understood. Various alternative possible explanations are always conceivable for the patterns observed. Nevertheless, […]

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CoinWeek Podcast #165: Mike Markowitz on Byzantine Coins

The CoinWeek Podcast is brought to you by PCGS. Check out PCGS’ new grading specials and take advantage of an exclusive offer to get a PCGS limited-edition 35th Anniversary Silver PCGS Box. You can also save money on Canadian banknote submissions and coin variety attributions. Visit pcgs.com/ccspecial to learn more. CoinWeek Podcast #165: Mike Markowitz […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: The Last Ancient Coin

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek …..   “What was the last ancient coin?” The question is unanswerable. There was no “last” ancient coin, just as there was no “last” ancient person. Classical antiquity didn’t just stop — it morphed gradually into the medieval world, which morphed, in turn, into what we understand as the modern […]

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Crown of Iron: Coins of the Lombard Kings

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. THE LOMBARDS, A tribe that traced their origin to Scandinavia, migrated into Eastern Europe in the fifth century CE, earning a reputation for ferocity in that war-torn land. Under their king Alboin (reigned c. 560-572), they invaded northern Italy around 568, where their name endures today in […]

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The Changing Iconography of Byzantine Gold Coins

  By Elena Stolyarik for American Numismatic Society (ANS) …… 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 […]

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Michael T. Shutterly: Ten Coins I’d Love to Own

By Michael T. Shutterly for CoinWeek ….. I enjoy coins for their artistry and for the history behind them. Because there are so many coins with an interesting history behind them, and because there are so many coins that demonstrate great artistry, I can think of far more than just Ten Coins I’d Love to […]

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Mike Markowitz: Ten Coins I’d Love to Own

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. I collect Late Roman (c. 300-491 CE) and Byzantine (c. 491-1350 CE) gold coins. The tangled histories of these long-dead empires, and the often tragic stories of their rulers, are deeply meaningful to me because I was fortunate to have an inspirational Latin teacher in high school, and some […]

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The Crondall Hoard of Anglo-Saxon Gold Coins

By Michael T. Shutterly for CoinWeek ….. The Anglo-Saxons began striking coins in what was to become England around 600 CE. These early coins consisted almost entirely of the small gold coins we know as “thrymsas”, which the Anglo-Saxons struck in imitation of the Merovingian tremissis (which itself imitated the late Roman tremissis). Fewer than […]

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Coins of the Conquerors of Rome

By Michael T. Shutterly for CoinWeek ….. Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, so, too, did it not fall in one. It actually took three days, spread out over 66 years. Theodosius the Great (reigned 379-395 CE) was the last man to rule the entire Roman Empire, both East and West. On his […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series – Ravenna: From Imperial Capital to Byzantine Outpost

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. …the sick promenade while the doctors lie abed, the baths freeze while the houses burn, the living are thirsty while the buried swim, thieves are vigilant while the authorities sleep, the clergy lend money while the Syrian merchants sing psalms… (Deliyannis, 50) —Sidonius Apollinaris (c. 430-489 describing Ravenna as […]

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Merovingian Coins on MA-Shops.com

By Joël van Dam – Owner, Joëlnumismatics, for MA-Shops.com …… Coins from the Merovingian Empire are popular around the world. Their gold coins, the tremissises, being the most popular of all. Merovingian coins have a style that reminds people of the early middle ages, and most of the coins are very rare. So, to add […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Coins of the Visigoths in Spain

  Visigoths in Spain By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. …[T]he history of the Visigothic kingdom is one long struggle between the nobility and the monarchy. The kings were supported by the clergy in their efforts to consolidate the royal power and transmit it from father to son, while the nobles strove to keep it […]

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NGC Ancients – Collecting Byzantine Coins on a Budget

Excellent examples of Byzantine coins are easily affordable   By Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) …… As we discovered in the previous two columns, the fields of ancient Greek and Roman coins provide the budget-minded collector with opportunities perhaps unequaled in any other area of numismatics. This month we’ll continue the discovery with Byzantine coins, which […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series – Heraclius: The Greatest Emperor You’ve Never Heard of

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series  by Mike Markowitz ….. Of the characters conspicuous in history, that of Heraclius is one of the most extraordinary and inconsistent. In the first and last years of a long reign, the emperor appears to be the slave of sloth, of pleasure, or of superstition, the careless and impotent spectator of the public […]

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Ancient Coins – A Survey of Roman Gold Coins — Part 2

By Josh Illingworth – NGC Ancients …… Part 1 At the beginning of the fourth century CE, the Roman Empire found itself in a prolonged economic decline. Centuries of warfare and misrule had slowly eroded all aspects of Roman life. Unsurprisingly, this was reflected in the Roman gold coins of the era. The gold aureus, a […]

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The Image of Jesus on Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. As with politicians, nothing is more important to gods than image … Perhaps this is the secret of the longevity of the God of Israel, that He never allowed an image of Himself[1]. THE OLD TESTAMENT’S STRICT PROHIBITION of idolatry inhibited the development of religious art in […]

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CoinWeek News Wire for March 10, 2017

By Coinweek …. CoinWeek News Wire for March 10, 2017 Brain Food 1.) Switzerland ranked world’s worst currency manipulator The Economist magazine placed Switzerland first in a recent ranking of currency manipulators. According to the analysis, China, commonly thought of as the world’s champion at keeping its currency’s value artificially low, appears to be doing […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Coinage of the Merovingians

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek …. The Franks had little idea of the state as a public institution, and the regnum Francorum (kingdom of the Franks), while remaining a family inheritance, was inherited according to the rules of private law, divided on each occasion between the sons or nearest male relatives of the deceased (Grierson […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Coinage of the Merovingians

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….   The Franks had little idea of the state as a public institution, and the regnum Francorum (kingdom of the Franks), while remaining a family inheritance, was inherited according to the rules of private law, divided on each occasion between the sons or nearest male relatives of the deceased […]

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