Small bronze
Byzantine weights and samples for contlol the
weight of
gold coins - a thing quite common. But one of these days I got a very strange subject, unlike anything I
had seen before.
The first thought was that it was another modern fantasy, a tourist souvenir, but a close inspection made me change my mind. The object is made of silver, on the back there are traces of corrosion, and a fairly thick coating of oxides on the back: black, and in places, brown. The seller said that at first nothing could be disassembled on the reel and it was soaked in chemistry agent for a long time before it was possible to clean it more or less.
So, the weigh is made of silver, its
diameter is 16 mm., the thickness is about 2 mm., it’s edges are rounded, with several small but deep metal ruptures. The fact that the
weight of the object is exactly 4.5 grams, suggests that we have a test
weights (exagia) for the 1 golden
solidus.
Exagia, as you can see, are worn, which indicates a fairly long use. The figure occupies only one
side. In the upper
part - the profile of the emperor (?), or maybe some major official, like an eparch, in a triangular segment, to the left of the
head - a
cross, apparently, the
cross was on the right. Under the profile is a letter M, more like the letter A. More to the left and to the right of it - are two large crosses. The most insulting is that the
inscription, which goes in a semicircle in the lower
part of the
weight (?)
Inscription, is practically not preserved. The first letter is similar to m, and at the end it seems like letters ... ЛOTI or DOTI (?), But not seeing the bottom of the letters, it's impossible anything more to say.
Weight can be dated V-VI centuries. If there are opinions, please speak on the topic.
