For the most
part I have steered clear of the bronze tetartera of the 12th century as they seemed to present as rather a mess, with a confusing variety of
weights and uncertain mints.
However, I have recently decided to take them on, starting by calculating
average weights for the various
types. Not surprisingly this threw up a few problems.
In particular it became clear that the treatment in the catalogs of the
Manuel I types SBCV 1977 and 1979 needs some improvement.
These
types are basically two versions of the one
type, S.1979 being for the most
part simply a smaller version of S.1977, with similar but slightly different
monograms of Manuel on the
obverse -
Sear Mgm 57 in the case of S.1977, and Mgm 58 for S.1979. In
Sear, following
Hendy and
DOC IV, the
monogram for S.1977 is described as having “small, neatly formed letters”, while for S.1979 the letters are described as large and somewhat clumsy.
Well, as more than a few collectors have discovered, this is only
part of the story.
In fact there are more like three or four basic versions of this
type, which are shown below.
The top example is obviously S.1977,
DOC IV Type 20, with Mgm 57 and small neat letters. The
average weight is (by my calculations) c.2.8 gm (2.75 gm in
Sear).
The second example is similar, showing Mgm 58 as in S.1979, but with small neat letters as in S.1977. This common combination is not covered by
Sear (let's call it S.1979a for the moment), so that this
type causes much confusion with collectors and
auction catalogers. The
average weight is c.2.3 gm.
The 3rd and 4th examples are versions of S.1979,
DOC IV 22, with Mgm 58 and medium to large letters as described in
Sear. The
average weight is c.2.0 gm (1.8 gm in
Sear).
Note that in C.L.B.C. 4.4.7 the
monogram for S.1977 is shown with very large letters. While such a
type may exist , all the examples of S.1977 that I have seen show small letters.
It is perhaps also worth noting that the
weights suggest that the second
type here, S.1979a, belongs in time between S.1977 and S.1979.
Ross G.