Alexios I Komnenos, Copper, Follis, Trebizond?, 1081-1092
Obverse
Frontal bust of Christ Pantokrator, nimbate with pellet in each visible cross arm.
Reverse
Latin cross on base and two steps. In angles of cross, A - Λ - R - P: Alexius Basileus Romaion.
Obverse
Frontal bust of Christ Pantokrator, nimbate with pellet in each visible cross arm.
Reverse
Latin cross on base and two steps. In angles of cross, A - Λ - R - P: Alexius Basileus Romaion.
| Accession number | BZC.2009.008 |
|---|---|
| Ruler | Alexios I Komnenos |
| Date of Reign | 1081–1118 |
| Metal | Copper |
| Denomination | Follis |
| Mint | Trebizond? |
| Date | 1081 – 1092 |
| Diameter | 30.0 mm |
| Weight | 8.84 g |
| Relation of Dies | 6:00 |
| Shape | Flat |
Acquisition History
From Füeg’s Collection, Stack’s NYC auction, 12 January 2009, lot 3285
Commentary
This coin has been attributed by Bendall (“The Mint of Trebizond under Alexios I and the Gabrades,” 133–34, issue 13B, no. 17, plate 7) to the mint of Trebizond under Alexius I and the Gabrades family. For a complete list of the seven articles he devoted to this series, see W. Schulze, “An Anonymous Copper Coin Re-Attributed from Trebizond to Syria,” 328. P. Papadopoulou (“De l’unité à l’éclatement: La monnaie et son usage dans le monde byzantin (1092–1261).”) was skeptical of this attribution, preferring a Syrian attribution on the basis of the many coin finds of the whole series in southeastern Asia Minor. Schulze (see above) and N. Schindel (“Trebizond or Northern Syria? A New Coin Type of the Counts of Edessa and the Attribution of a Group of 11th/12th Century Copper Coins,” 263–72) are also very critical and defend an attribution to northern Syria with detailed arguments and documentation.
This coin has two countermarks (N. M. Lowick, S. Bendall, and P. D. Whitting, The Mardin Hoard: Islamic Countermarks on Byzantine Folles, type 13) on the obverse with Islamic text over the face of Christ, rectangular shapes over the eyes, and an oval over the chin.