COIN 520331

Description: An unidentified coin, possibly a two nummus piece of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (AD 527-65) or the Ostrogothic king of Italy, Theoderic (AD 493-526). There does appear to be a B on the reverse. The B on Byzantine coins stands for two nummi and is used on coins struck at Carthage, AD 533-8 (MIBE 190) and at Thessalonica, AD 527-38 (MIBE 177). In Ostrogothic Italy, Theoderic's 2 nummus coin from Rome, c. 493-518, has an R on the reverse which looks like a B (Metlich 80b). These coins are all scarce in the Mediterranean and none of them has ever been found in Britain. However, it is hard to find an alternative identification of this piece - the Byzantine piece from Carthage is probably the most likely candidate. 9mm in diameter and weighing 0.9g. References: MIBE - W. Hahn, Money of the Incipient Byzantine Empire, Vol. 1, Vienna, 2000. Metlich - M. A. Metlich, The Coinage of Ostrogothic Italy, Spink, 2004

Date: 496 - 538

Object type: COIN

Last import: August 15, 2017