Introduction.
A problem that continues to plague not only novice but also advanced collectors is the proper attribution of takvorins of Gosdantin III from those of one of his successors, Gosdantin IV.Gosdantin III, who ruled from 1344-1363 and Gosdantin IV who reigned from 1365-1374 struck extremely similiar and crude coins, which present the modern numismatist with a serious attribution challange.
I remember sitting frustrated over these takvorins and looking through reference books for hours, comparing images and reading material. After some practice with these issues, I feel fairly comfortable. Therefore, I want to create a page with some simple tips based on the works of other numismatists as Bedoukian to aid in their differentiation. There are advantages and disadvantages to every tip, so
Tip 1.
Oftentimes the takvorins of the two rulers can be differentiated by workmanship
of the dies. Those of Gosdantin III tend to be slightly finer than those of
Gosdantin IV. Note the two types presented below.
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| Fig 1.Takvorin of Gosdantin III | Fig 2. Takvorin of Gosdantin IV |
However, some takvorins of Gosdantin III, from the later part of his reign tend to be of cruder workmanship, so this test is not universal. See below.
Tip 2.
The takvorins of Gosdantin III often are of higher content silver than those
of Gosdantin IV, so if a takvorin is rather dull looking, or billon, with copper
on the surface, it suggests Gosdantin IV rather than III. However, there are
exceptions to this.
Tip 3.
Another method of attribution is the field-marks seen on these coins. The fieldmarks
of Gosdantin III and IV differ not only by type but by location applied. Personally,
I like this method the best.
GOSDANTIN III - The takvorins of Gosdantin III are often placed on the obverse to the left of the horseman on the obverse, between the horse's rear and king's head. See below:
Here is a list of the fieldmarks of the ruler along with location.
Behind Horseman
1. Letter only: Վ, Ե, 0, Ք, Լ
2. Letter and dot: Վ and dot, Լ
and dot, Գ
and three dots.
3. Dot only: circle or dot, two dots, three dots, four dots.
4. Other: star and two dots, cross.
Below Horse's Belly
1. All types: dot encircled by 5 other dots forming pentagon-like pattern, dot,
Լ.
GOSDANTIN IV - The takvorins of this king follow a much more different field-mark pattern. Oftentimes, the same letter is both on the obverse/reverse, below the animal's belly. However, this is not always true. At times, the obverse/reverse letter do not match, there is a letter only on one side. More important, the location of the letter varies between the leg spaces of the animal. I will choose to ignore leg space varieties here as it is not my goal to catalogue, but to rather explain how to attribute these. So first of, a takvorin of Gosdantin IV with most fieldmark positions.
And, obverse /reverse combinations.
Լ/Լ
Տ/Տ
Լ/Տ
Վ/Վ
nothing/Լ
Լ/nothing
Լ
above horse with dots/Լ
between legs
3 dots andԼ/3
dots andԼ
Unfortunately, some specimens may lack fieldmarks, have unpublished marks, or present some other barrier to this attribution method.
Tip 4.
A useful attribution tip worth mentioning is that takvorins of Gosdantin IV
tend to have a more complete reverse legend that of Gosdantin III, though this
tip is very general.
Tip 5.
Finally, there is the specific gravity test that can be used to identify the
coins. Coinage of Gosdantin IV is generally of lesser content silver then those
of Gosdantin III. A specific gravity test with results of about 9.1 - 9.3 or
less than 40% silver suggests Gosdantin IV. However, this is a time consuming
and difficult process. ot read more about it, see bibliography.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SUGGESTED READING: